East Chicago Central’s Lela Edmonds is a point guard to her core.
Lela Edmonds said she has trained to play the position throughout her life. But the 5-foot-10 junior’s growth adds a new wrinkle. Once one of the shorter players on the team as a 5-3 freshman, if not the shortest, she suddenly became the Cardinals’ tallest player.
“It never took away the passion of seeing the court, being the leader on the court, helping my team,” Lela Edmonds said. “It never took that away. But now I just play all around.”
Lela Edmonds, who has started at point guard since her freshman season, plays small forward at times. She even sees minutes in the post.
It just depends on what the Cardinals (7-13) need from her under the watchful eye of her mother, second-year coach Lani Edmonds, and her grandfather Ron Edmonds, East Chicago’s former longtime coach who has continued to serve as an assistant. Lani Edmonds played for him as a senior during the 2002-03 season.
“It’s definitely tough having your daughter as a player,” Lani Edmonds said. “But she’s matured a lot. She’s worked on her game over the summer. She sprouted out of nowhere. Even with that, she’s had to learn how to use this new body of hers because it was so different from years before.
“But she’s one of our leaders on the court. She still needs to step into that role a little more, but she’s done a really good job leading the team this year.”
Lela Edmonds averages about 12 points, “dominates the boards” and functions as “the motor of our team,” Lani Edmonds said.
“Her responsibilities have shifted a little bit,” Lani Edmonds said. “Now we need her to be in the paint, to rebound. But we also need her to bring the ball up the court and go score. She’s playing multiple roles, but she’s adjusting.
“A lot of mental maturation has taken place, and it’s still in the progress of taking place with next year being her senior year. I can only imagine she’s going to show up and be a whole different ballplayer next year.”
Lela Edmonds has embraced the opportunity to play for her mother and her grandfather.
“Having a parent as your coach is so different,” Lela Edmonds said. “My grandpa has always been one of my coaches. Not only are they your coach, but you’re going home with them. So it’s constant. It’s constant.
“I have the green light, but I’m not playing just because a parent is my coach. My mom would sit me in a minute. My teammates know that. She would sit them in a minute. She’s like their mom too. I’ve definitely toughened up and taken responsibility. She leads with examples. She always tells me she went through the same things with my grandpa. She knows how I feel with her as my coach because he was her coach. I’m grateful for that, to have that connection.”
Lela Edmonds is in her second season as a captain with senior guard Shanari Taylor and is influencing younger players such as freshman guard Treyonna Harris.
“She’s a very good player,” Harris said of Lela Edmonds. “She knows how to pass the ball. She knows what to do, when to do it. She’s a good captain. She motivates us. Even when we’re doing bad, she keeps us going. She never brings us down, always lifts us up.”
Lela and Lani Edmonds agreed the Cardinals haven’t had the season they envisioned. But they also agreed the team still has the ability to make an impact in the postseason. East Chicago Central will play Calumet or Griffith in the Class 3A Griffith Sectional semifinals on Feb. 7.
“I didn’t expect to have a losing season, to be honest,” Lani Edmonds said. “We have a very talented group of girls. We have everything a coach needs to be successful. But I don’t know if they believed right off the bat.
“But it’s going to turn around tournament time. We’ve progressed all this way. We’ve made mistakes, and hopefully we’re able to correct those mistakes to win the sectional, which I think we have a high chance of doing.”
The Cardinals last won a sectional title in 2012. It’s personal for Lela Edmonds, who noted the team didn’t lose a game during her mother’s senior season until the sectional final.
“It’s inspiration,” Lela Edmonds said. “My main focus for sectionals is to get her that championship because she wasn’t able to get it for herself. I want to be able to get it not only for my mom, but for our seniors that are leaving. Obviously every team wants to have a sectional trophy. But it’s deeper than that. It goes back to 2003.
“We’ve had a rough season. But I feel like from the beginning of the season until now, I honestly feel like we’re prepared to win sectionals. I’m a very optimistic person, but I honestly feel that. We all feel like in our hearts, we’re going to win it.”
Lela Edmonds can draw on various experiences to try to make it happen. She’s also a starter on East Chicago Central’s girls volleyball team and is a captain on the girls track and field team.
“My grandpa introduced me to so many sports,” Lela Edmonds said. “I wouldn’t be who I am without him.
“I genuinely feel like a student-athlete shouldn’t just stick to one sport. You can learn so many aspects from multiple sports. Volleyball, you learn how to be a team. It’s about communication more than anything. I took that from there. Track is conditioning and perseverance. It’s about your mindset. And everything just ties together. I use bits and pieces from every sport to help me with my basketball game.”
But with junior year being pivotal academically and athletically, Lela Edmonds said she is considering not competing in track this spring to concentrate on basketball.
“I do want to put more focus on basketball because this is the sport I love,” she said. “This is the sport I’ve played since I can remember.”
Lela Edmonds said she’s leaning toward studying marketing in college in an effort to expand her burgeoning business.
“I’m an entrepreneur,” she said. “I bake and cook. I love it.”
Lela Edmonds would also like to start studying for her real estate license over the summer in order to obtain it when she turns 18.
“Even with doing so many things, having a small business, having three sports, being busy all summer, my mom has always been on us about grades,” she said. “I’m in all honors classes. We have to keep our grades up. She expects the best out of us.”
