Diary Of A Female Baller: Zoey Brooks 23' (Holy Savior Academy Middle School) Plainfield, NJ / New Jersey Sparks Entry #7

Zoey Brooks 23'

Monday, May 22

I started the day with my normal routine: shower, breakfast, school and homework.  Then, my dad took me to the track where I did some crunches, jumped rope and ran two miles. I ended my night putting up shots with my brother in the park.

Tuesday, May 23

I went over my friend Ciera’s house and we hung out. Then, her brother Reuben took us and Ciera’s other brother Jason to Lifetime so we could play basketball. We played a couple of games of 21 and since Reuben dropped us off, we had to take an Uber home.

Wednesday, May 24

Now that the weather is nice, one of my favorite things to do is ride my Ripstik, scooter, bike and hoverboard. Today, I went to the park and rode my Ripstik around for two hours. When I got home, I watched Youtube until I fell asleep.

Thursday, May 25

I had a science test today in school and I did really well. When I got home, I grabbed a snack and packed up for basketball training with Eric. I worked out for two hours and besides ball handling and finishing moves, I feel like I regained my touch on my jumper. My shooting slump is over.

Friday, May 26

Classes were easy and we only had a half day of school because of the Memorial Day holiday. After lunch, I took a nap and went to the park to hang out before heading to my basketball training with Eric.

Saturday, May 27

It felt so weird waking up today and not having any games with the Sparks. We had the entire week off and I miss my teammates. I went to Lifetime and shot around for a little bit. After showering, I went to Menlo Park Mall and did some shopping and then to my friend Bradley’s house for a BBQ.

Sunday, May 28

After my mom got home from church, we all went to the gym. Me and my brother played a three point shooting game for hours and then I went with my mom to the supermarket. After we ate, I went to Skyzone and played dodge ball for an hour. I ended the day by watching LeBron James and the Cavs beat the Celtics in Game 7. Congrats!

Player Profile: Dakota Daniello - Empire State

Name: Dakota Daniello 

Club Team: Empire State

Class: 2023

Position: Point Guard

State: NJ

Event: Middle School Jamboree

Profile: Daniello speed is her attribute, she blows by her defender with ease. change of pace in direction is incredible, small, mid-range shot, crazy handle, 

Player Profile: Clara Forbes - Lady Titans

Name: Ciara Forbes

Club Team: Lady Titans

Class: 2023

Position: Point Guard

State: NJ

Event: Middle School Jamboree

Profile: Forbes is a up in coming guard who is small but can go; handle in transition, consistent mid-range game, speed, loves wing, crafty, 

Player Profile: Tyonna Bailey - Westchester Hoopers

Name: Tyonna Bailey

Club Team: Hoopers

Class: 2023

Position: Guard

State: NJ

Event: Middle School Jamboree

Profile: Bailey is a versatile forward who can put the ball on the floor with ease, runs the floor well, strong and rebounds with passion, size and strength, handle, gets to the basket in finishes, great upper body, can play point at times

Player Profile: Madison St.Rose

Name: Madison St.Rose

AAU Team: New Jersey Sparks

Class: 2022

Position: Combo Guard

State: NJ

Event: Middle School Jamboree

Profile: St.Rose is a high energy guard who plays well on the wing, versatile, explosive, on ball defender, scorers punch, uptempo, mid-range game

Player Profile: Ariel Jackson 

Name: Ariel Jackson

AAU Team: Brooklyn Stars

Class: 2022

Position: Combo Guard

State: NY

Event: Middle School Jamboree

Profile: Jackson is a tall physical guard who will pound you to death; can play the 1 through 3 position because of her size in strength, play maker, high IQ, passes well, creator, handle, basketball dna

Diary Of A Female Baller: Zoey Brooks 23' (Holy Savior Academy Middle School) Plainfield, NJ / New Jersey Sparks Entry #6 

Zoe Brooks 23'

Hey, my name is Zoe Brooks. I’m 13, I attend Holy Savior Academy in South Plainfield, I’m a 5-7 guard for the New Jersey Sparks (Class of 2023) and here are some of the things I do on and off the court on a daily basis.

Monday, May 14

After playing four tough games in the Rose Classic this past weekend, my dad told me I could have a day off to let my body rest. I spent my time doing homework, texting, watching Super Girl and playing Fortnite.

Tuesday, May 15

Although I’m only in seventh grade, me and my dad talk a lot about which high school I’m going to go to. We were looking at St. John Vianney and Rutgers Prep. I like SJV because I want to play in the Shore Conference because everyone says that’s the top conference in the state. My dad likes Rutgers Prep because of the education and Coach Klinger. After school today a high school coach worked out me and a player from Team Miller. We did a ton of full court and half court one-on-one drills and it was a good workout.

Wednesday, May 16

I had Sparks practice in Paterson which took us about an hour to get to from Plainfield because of all the rush hour traffic. Practice was good and Coach Chez worked us out hard. One of our old teammates Dana stopped by practice with her sister and her dad. We hadn’t seen her in a while and she gave each player on the team brand new knee pads that matched our uniforms.

Thursday, May 17

Now that I’m 13, I’m starting to do more strength training and conditioning type stuff. After school I walked/jogged around the track eight times and then I did an hour of skills and drills with Eric Myrick. I was so tired afterwards.

Friday, May 18

One of my best friends is Ciera Cevallos. She used to play on the Sparks with me but now she plays for our rivals Exodus. We both go to the same trainer which is fun and today we doubled up and did two hour sessions.

Saturday, May 19

For the rest of the summer, we are going to be without two of our starters. Our power forward is no longer on the team and our center is done because she tore her ACL. We beat Team Takeover in the first game of the Philly Face Off. We played New Heights in our second game and they couldn’t miss. We were down 12-0 to start the game. Eventually our shots started going in and I hit the game winning layup in overtime and we won by two points. Afterwards I went and watched our 17U EYBL team which is also coached by Coach Chez.

Sunday, May 20

We blew out Team Providence from Rhode Island in our first game of the day. I had a really good game scoring and setting up my teammates. The championship game against Philly Triple Threat was a different story. Even though I scored 12 points, I couldn’t make a basket to save my life. I’ve never missed so many shots that I normally make and we lost the chip. One of our key players was sick and barely played and we only had six players, but no excuses. I feel like we should have won that game, but hopefully we will get to play them again.

                  Middle School Jr All American Camp

Queens, New York - Sorry for the delay, I lost and recovered my files to do this report. Joe Fenelon from NYG Hoops is known for bringing in some good Middle School talent from Coast to Coast. This is the second year for this event and let me tell you that it was a lot of heat in the building, no literally. St. John's Prep was where the it took, there girls team had a big game that morning which also made it quite good day for some all around good basketball in the Big Apple. 

NYG HOOPS knows that timing is everything, and like last year he pick the perfect time to do this Middle School Jr All American which allow a few evaluators to take a look at some of the top kids throughout different parts of the state. Some kids were there to return to show how they have grown, there were a lot of new faces from last year which makes it more fun to see what level that they are on and to start a new following.

During this one day event we got see individual match-ups, team match-ups and a little horse. For those who don't know what horse is, its a basketball game when two people play against each other and whoever scores first is the winner until someone else knocks you out of the game.

Leah Harmon - 2024 - 5'2 - PG - New Jersey Sparks - (NJ) - One of the top Point Guards in the 24 class, has just about everything to be one of the best New Jersey guards. A very excessive worker in the basketball ball game, even when playing up she changes the game. Creates off dribble... Handle... Explosive when attacking. Small but has a nice build... Mature... Skilled...

Kendall Dudley - 2024 - 5'11 - Wing - Maryland Belles - (VA) - You can't teach height, but in this case Dudley seems to have been taught a little something about being able to but the ball on the floor as a big. Kendall is very athletic and runs the floor very well with grace. Superior young athlete... Huge upside... Mobile... Plays well beyond her years... Post moves... Can handle on the wing... Runs the floor very well... Still growing...

Anaiah Jenkins - 2023 - 5'11 - Power Forward - Maryland Belles - (MD) - Versatile player who can play a magnitude of positions. Size and strength... Moves well...  Plays hard... Very knowledgeable... 

Amoni Byrd - 2022 - 5'8 - PG / SG - NY Lady Bulldogs - (NY) - Point who plays at a high level, can switch over easy to play the 2 guard. Great handle and can get to the rack and finish because of strength. Strong finisher... Attacks... Handle... Major upper body strength...

Grace Sundback - 2023 - 5'6 - Guard - Exodus NYC - (NY) - Loves to stroke the jump shot, can do a different of variety of things on the court. Don't be fooled by the speed, this guard can still break defenders down and have them backpedaling. Handle... Consistent mid-range game... Good in the open court... 

Chardonnay Hartley - 2022 - 5'2 - PG - Milbank / Westchesters  Hoopers - (NY) - Can flat out play, small but tenacious. Very competitive on both ends of the floor, likes to put her defenders in tough situations with guarding her on a one on one. Small... Quick... Handle... Fast first step... Attack mode... Not afraid of contact...

Angelica Velez - 2023 - 5'3 - PG - Exodus NYC - (NY) - Can play the 1 or the 2 depending on the situation that the young guard is in. Has been on Gthing's radar for quite sometime now, this underrated guard has a combination of thinks that makes stock rise for the 2023 class. Speed... Shifty... Handle... Attacks... Has to learn how to play a little bit more under control...

Abbey Lindsey - 2023 - 5'4 - Guard - Staten Island Bulldogs - (NY) - Lindsey seems to just knows how to play basketball, she does all the small things just perfect. High IQ... Skilled... Runs floor... High motor... Shoots well... Plays well off the ball...

Dakota Daniello - 2023 - 4'9 - PG - Empire State Flames - (NY) - Small but efficient, loves to play the game of basketball. Dakota has tremendous speed and uses that to her advantage when attacking the basket. Lead guard... High motor... Likes to play uptempo... Handle... Incredible speed... Fast hands...

Sophia Davis - 2022 - 5'10 - Forward - Jersey Shore Elite - (NJ) - Big body forward, as of now she is a tweener. Can play either the 3 or 4 position, Davis can put the ball on the in front of or away from the basket. Great foot work... Mobile.. Physical size and presence... Can finish at the rim... Upper body strength... Can take on contact...

Saniah Caldwell - 2022 - 5'9 - Guard - New Jersey Sparks - (NJ) - Caldwell is starting to emerge as one of the top point guards in the 22' class. She has been play up as of lately and has been putting up good numbers. Can create her own shot... Long and rangy... Consistent Mid-Range shot... Athletic... Handle... Attacks the basket, but can attack more...


Skye Owen - 2022 - 5'7 - Point Guard - IExcel - (NY) - Owen, fast in quick lead guard. Owen is a crafty ball handler who can get to the lane where she penetrates in dish. Quick... Explosive off the dribble... Penetrates & dish... Passes in transition... Makes plays in transition... Floor leader who can score... 

Aiyanna Culver - 2024 - 4'5 - Guard - New Heights - (NY) - Point guard with a scorers mentality, Shot creator... Great shot selection to be so young... Small put plays big... Handle. 

Lauren Swann - 2024 - 5'5 - Guard - New Jersey Sparks - (NJ) - Small athletic defender who plays up; poise and calm... leader at times... scorers punch... fast and quick with the ball...

Christina Midgette - 2022 - 5'10 - Combo Guard - Team Miller - (NJ) - Agile combo guard with good athletic ability; drives in finishes at rim... strong... mid-range gamer... good foot work when attacking... great size and backcourt... finishes in traffic with body....

Diary Of A Female Baller: Zoey Brooks 23' (Holy Savior Academy Middle School) Plainfield, NJ / New Jersey Sparks Entry #5

Zoey & Mom

Hey, my name is Zoe Brooks. I’m 13, I attend Holy Savior Academy in South Plainfield, I’m a 5-7 guard for the New Jersey Sparks (Class of 2023) and here are some of the things I do on and off the court on a daily basis.

Monday, May 7

I woke up today and my ankle was still hurting from the weekend. After school, I knew we had Sparks practice so I iced my ankle while watching TV. Practice was good and when I went home I ate, did my homework and went to sleep.

Tuesday, May 8

I love playing basketball for my middle school team and as usual, we won the championship this year. Today was our day to celebrate the chip so we had a pizza party after school. After we were done eating, we played ball and me and my good friend Jett played a three point shooting game. After playing around for a little bit the whole team had to put on our uniforms and take pictures.

Wednesday, May 9

After school I did my homework, took a little nap and then got dressed for Sparks practice in Newark. When we got to the gym, there was another team there so because of the confusion, we ended up not practicing.

Thursday, May 10

Today I had a math test and that is the subject I struggle the most in. After school I went to my trainer Eric and I was supposed to do two sessions but my ankle wasn’t fully healed yet so I only did one. After my workout, I did my homework, ate dinner and watched Youtube for the rest of the night.

Friday, May 11

Today the team got back bad news about our big man Kelyse. She got her MRI results and she has a torn ACL and is done for the season.  She does a lot of things for us and will be missed. I worked out for an hour, did my homework and went to bed early because we have the Rose Classic this weekend and we’re playing up.

Saturday, May 12

I woke up early so that we could head to Brooklyn. We played against Bay State and Exodus 8^th grade. Although we competed hard, we dropped both games. We have to get used to playing without Kelyse and although I normally play shooting guard, I now have to do a lot of stuff that centers normally do. Between games, me and my teammate Kayla went to the movies and saw Avengers. It was really good although I still don’t understand what happened at the end.

Sunday, May 13

We had three more games today in the Rose Classic. We won by forfeit, beat the 8^th grade Havoc team and lost by one to Team Sol 8^th grade. We’re better than Team Sol and had the lead in the final 30 seconds but didn’t seal the deal. Although we went 2-3 this weekend, I feel like we got better as a team and when we play our age these games can only help us. Today is Mother’s Day so after our games, I went and hung out with the best mom in the world,  Milicent Brooks.