Salt Fork Star Jamison Just as Humble as She is Talented: ‘One of a kind’

 THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY ZACH PIATT

ABOVE: Alexa Jamison has shined during her four seasons with the Salt Fork girls’ basketball program as she tries to lead the Storm to a Vermilion County Tournament title.

CATLIN — Kalyn Learnard played for Alexa Jamison’s grandfather and aunt when she was in high school, so she knew about the young talent well before she got to this level.

Now, Learnard is the one coaching Jamison as Salt Fork’s head softball coach and assistant girls’ basketball coach, and it didn’t take long for her to realize she would turn into something special.

“It had to have been one of the first practices,” Learnard said. “Just watching her here and there running around the field. Her skill set is second to none. All the little things she does right and does well sets her above many, many athletes.”

The same goes for Brian Russell, Salt Fork’s athletic director and head girls’ basketball coach. He’s coached Jamison on the basketball court since she was in fifth grade and watched her on the softball field alongside his daughter, Macie Russell, since she was 8 years old, so he’s seen a thing or two from the multi-sport star.

“She’s always had that knack for coming up with a big play,” Russell said. “I think it’s always been there. She’s just a gamer. She comes up with big plays at big times.”

Neither of them are surprised Jamison has gotten to where she is today, having her best basketball season yet while preparing to do the same for her final high school softball campaign.

She’s taking in every moment she can during her senior year, and she’s earned that privilege, having committed to continue playing both sports at Danville Area Community College this past October. It’s an opportunity she said “means everything.”

“I just love both sports. I’ve never been able to choose between the two of them,” Jamison said. “I was first getting recruited for basketball. When softball came around, I realized I only had one more year, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to give that up. When I was going on visits, I wasn’t even really considering them without softball. There were so many great basketball programs I loved, but when DACC offered me for both basketball and softball, it was something I couldn’t turn down.”

Jamison’s mom played basketball, and her dad ran track, so she grew up in an athletic environment. Softball was her first love, and she always enjoyed practicing with her grandpa when she was little. She started playing travel softball when she was 8 and picked up travel basketball a couple years later.

Through all that competition, Jamison developed a work ethic to which her peers and coaches haven’t found an equal. She works on both sports year-round to a point where you couldn’t tell which season she was in if you just looked at her training behind the scenes.

The Storm’s biggest basketball game of the year so far was on Jan. 13, hosting Cissna Park. After an intense Vermilion Valley Conference game that ended in a close loss, Jamison laughed when talking to The News-Gazette about how she balances it all, sharing that she just had softball practice the night before.

It’s all year, all the time. Especially now with the Vermilion County Tournament taking place this week at Jamison’s future college, DACC, as she tries to end her high school basketball career with a fourth straight county tournament championship.

“Everything she’s done, she’s worked at it,” Russell said. “She’s very talented on the basketball court, but it doesn’t come without hard work. Because of her work ethic, she can do what she can on the court. I’m not shocked that she’s done this because of her personality and work ethic. Everything she’s earned, she’s done it by working hard.”

Deflecting the praise

Jamison’s athletic potential really started to show last year as a junior. She led the basketball team to the Class 1A Sweet 16 while averaging nearly 15 points per game and followed that up with a .526 batting average and a regional championship appearance on the softball diamond.

Now a senior, it’s rare when she doesn’t score at least 20 points a game — she became Salt Fork’s all-time leading scorer earlier this season — and Learnard is “super excited” for what’s to come in the spring.

“She’s phenomenal. One of a kind,” Learnard said. “Not just because of her athletic ability, but because of what she does for the ones around her. She makes them better by pushing them to be better. She knows she can’t do it without her teammates, and she knows she’s got to keep getting better not just for herself, but for everyone around her.”

That’s the other thing that stands out about Jamison. No matter how much praise she receives, she redirects all the credit to her teammates, coaches, family members and everyone else who has helped her along the way. No matter how talented she is with a basketball or a softball bat in her hands, she’ll always be even more humble.

“Yes, I do get a lot of press and recognition, but I would be nowhere without my teammates,” Jamison said. “No one sees what they do for me behind the scenes and how they support me and give me confidence.”

That part of her is all year, all the time, too.

“A lot of gratitude for my family pushing me growing up and my teammates and coaches throughout the years,” Jamison said. “I’m just so grateful for all of them. They’ve gotten me to this point.”

Leaning on the support

Jamison needed that support more than ever two summers ago before her junior year. She tore her ACL in June 2023 and had surgery the following July. Luckily, she had a quick recovery and only missed the first six games of the ensuing basketball season.

She leaned on her supporters during that time, and while she would be the same light of positivity for her teammates regardless of past struggles, this is also a way for her to repay them.

“Up until last year, it’s been such a fun ride. Not many bumps in the road,” Jamison said. “When I tore my ACL, my world kind of flipped, and I had to learn what it was like not playing sports 24/7. That was really difficult for me, but I had an amazing support system, and that really got me through it. I’m just really, really happy with my progress through this past year and getting past that.”

Sure, Jamison’s coaches will miss having her as a player — who wouldn’t miss a talent like that? — but that’s not what they’ll think about when she does finally play her last high school game.

“I’m sure there will be many, many tears shed,” Learnard said. “She’s going to be hard to replace. Really big shoes to fill as an athlete, a leader and a person.”

Fulfilling her potential

For Russell, Jamison has become family, and he’s just hoping the team can give her a memorable finish to her high school career.

“It goes back to her family raising a tremendously nice, humble kid. You could put a lot of different adjectives there,” Russell said. “What you see is what you get. She is genuine, a great friend, a great student and an all-around great person, which allows her to be a really talented player. It helps when you have talented young ladies who are also good young ladies in terms of their personalities and behavior, and Alexa is certainly one of those kids.”

But the end isn’t at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now, especially Jamison’s. She still has a month or two left of leading the Storm on the basketball court — they have their eyes set on making a deep postseason run — as well as an entire softball season.

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