It’s all in the family at Rosemead High and Keppel boys stick it to Schurr
2012/01/17
ROSMEAD – The Rosemead High girls’ basketball team really is a family affair.
With 16-year-old junior Melody Gauthier making most of the big plays for the team, her father Jay Gauthier is the head coach and brother Jay Gauthier, Jr. is the assistant coach for the Panthers.
And with all that in mind, Melody Gauthier really thinks the team is going somewhere this year.
“The team is really good,” she said. “We have a couple of girls who are playing hard and helping out a lot.”
She added the season began slowly for her, but that now she’s picked up her pace.
“It started out kind of rusty, but now I’m getting better,” she said. “I’m shooting a lot more for practice in the gym. My brother has been helping me out a lot one-on-one and I’m getting my post game down and scoring inside,”
In addition, Melody Gauthier said she likes playing for her dad and brother as it is just something natural.
“I like it a lot because I’ve always been really close to them and we’ve always had a relationship at home outside of basketball,” she said. “My dad is a pastor, so I always help out at church. My brother is the youth pastor so I help him out with that and we do a lot of youth group things together.”
At 5-foot-8, Melody Gauthier is already looking past next year and at playing college ball.
“I have to be in a little better shape, get stronger, get a lot better with technique, such as better dribbling and rebounding, defense and scoring,” she said. “My whole life I’ve always wanted to play basketball in college.”
Melody Gauthier’s father said his daughter is a lot of fun to have on the team.
“She’s very easy to coach,” Jay Gauthier said. “I also had the opportunity to coach her in club ball when she was younger. We’ve always had a really good relationship. I don’t think I’m harder on her too much. At times I can be because I know what she’s capable of when she’s not doing it, but that’s very rare.”
He added she is great to have on the squad for the Panthers.
“The best thing about having her on a team whether she’s my daughter or not is it’s like having a coach on the floor,” he said. “She understands what’s going on completely.”
Jay Gauthier, Jr. said it’s just like having a best friend out there on the court.
“It’s fun,” he said of having his sister on the team and adding they’re six years apart. “Aside from my wife, she’s my best friend. I’ve been playing with her since she was 3 or 4 years old and barely old enough to walk. Coaching her is my most loved hobby.”
And how is it working not just with his sister but also for his father?
“My dad and I work together every day in business,” he said. “Honestly, it’s nothing new. Everything we do we do together.”
IN PREP BOYS’ BASKETBALL, the Mark Keppel High boys’ basketball team got off to a quick start and clobbered visiting Schurr High Friday night, 57-32, in an Almont League game.
Matthew Low was the Aztecs’ high scorer with 11 points, while Kyler Lee knocked in 10 in the victory.
Aztec coach Hung Duong was very pleased with Keppel’s performance on the court.
“The kids played great, played really hard,” he said. “We were ready to play today. It was a home game and we had to protect our home court.”
Shel Segal is president of Arcadia, Calif.-based Segal Communications and associate editor/sports editor of the West Valley Journal (Calif.). He can be reached at ssegal@segalcomm.net.
