Kaitlyn Boggs remains a student of the game for Mainland

LINWOOD — Kaitlyn Boggs plays the game like a student.

The Mainland senior forward has all the athletic bonafides of a college athlete with more than enough academic swagger to reach her real goals.

“Thankfully, my parents pushed me really hard growing up,” Boggs said. “It was always academics. I wouldn't be able to go hang out my friends after I finished all my homework. Homework always came first and school always came first. So that has pushed me to become a better student and a better athlete. I've been able to have strong academics while also being able to play sports and working hard in that.”

That emphasis from the start has transformed academics from a duty to a calling. She’s nurturing both aspects of her student-athlete mindset.

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“I want to study early education with a minor in psychology,” Boggs said. “I've always wanted to be involved in sports growing up as much as I can. I love it. It's been such a big part of my life growing up. You're always playing sports. It is going to be the great for being able to maybe coach or be an assistant coach or something like that. Yeah, just being able to help out.”

As one of two seniors on the Mustangs’ roster, with Camryn Dirkes, Boggs has by default, become a leader. By temperament, too.

“Kaitlyn would be great with kids,” coach Scott Betson said. “She's just she's such a nice kid to be around and she's always smiling. She absorbs everything you tell her. And I just I've seen her interact not just with the teammates, but like with my own children. She's just great with kids. I think that would be absolutely great fit for her.”

Boggs place in Mainland history has already been cemented. Her name appears first on the 2019 Mainland state championship banner. That’s more than just an alphabetical perk.

It’s also a reminder to her mostly younger teammates that she and Dirkes have been there and done that.

“They've seen how fun that kid that type of atmosphere and that type of situation can be,” Betson said. “Their focus is to get to situations like that again at the end of the year. They understand that everything that happens now is just steps to get there. I think that helps, and not so much from like the experience they had as super young freshman, but more so, they understand the big picture.”

The Mustangs are 8-1 after a 55-51 come-from-behind win over Atlantic City. Even in the moments when things seemed to be slipping away, there was only calm coming from the Mainland senior leaders. That’s no coincidence.

“I think our coaches let us all know that, no matter where we are we can slow down, take a breath,” Boggs said. “When you start to get worked up in a game when it gets closer or when it gets down to one or when they make a run, it's not going to help you. We're really good at running our offense and getting shots that way. I think that's what helps us stay calm in close situations at the end of the game.”

Tom Rimback, sports reporter

Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and The Daily Journal. Follow him on twitter @RimbackBCT. Email him with story ideas at trimback@thebct.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Mainland senior Kaitlyn Boggs studies the best for Mustangs basketball