Avery Collins reaches beyond her goals

MHS senior Avery Collins just after scoring her 1,000th career point in varsity basketball, on Feb. 8

It’s only happened three times in Manchester High School history. But it’s a goal that senior Avery Collins set her sights on long at least six years before.

On Feb. 8, at a varsity basketball game in Hanover-Horton, Avery became the fourth to score the 1,000th point of her high school career.

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was five years old,” Avery says, “I started in Manchester’s Youth Hoops program in first grade, and then in fifth grade I started playing travel. ” played on a couple different travel teams before starting school spots in seventh grade.”

This is Avery’s fourth year as a starter on the MHS varsity basketball team.

“I would say I learned the most about basketball because I was dragged to every game and travel tournament to watch my sisters for as long as I can remember,” she adds. “That’s where I found my love for the game, because I just couldn’t wait until it was my turn to play!”

When she was in sixth grade, she watched her older sister Madison play on the 2013 state championship team. That year, McKenna Erkfritz and Taylor Manders were the first Manchester players to reach the 1,000 point mark. Two years later, Taylor’s younger sister (and Maddie’s classmate) Jessie Manders did the same. And at some point along the way, Avery decided to set a goal for herself.

“My freshman and sophomore years, I didn’t think about it much because my role on the team was different–to work hard on defense and hit a couple of threes,” she says. “I was always in the gym getting shots up because I always wanted to improve my game, but the reality of getting 1,000 points didn’t hit until the end of last year when I realized I was just a few hundred points away. I was a little surprised.”

Avery’s coach, Corey Fether, calls her “a joy to coach.”

“She puts in the work in the offseason, and makes her teammates better,” he said. “She’s not only a great scorer, but defender as well.”

Fether adds that Avery has a a 63-27 win/loss record in her four years of play and has achieved All-Conference status each year since her sophomore season. She received Honorable Mention for All State in her junior season, and has broken the school record for three-pointers made in a career with 95.

“Going into the Hanover-Horton game I was trying to stay calm,” Avery says, “but on the inside I was the most nervous I’ve ever been. Coach Fether can always tell when I’m getting nervous for games because I tend to get really serious and forget to smile, so he always reminds me to just breathe and smile. That always helps me out and calms me down.

“When I finally hit 1,000 it was such an amazing moment. I looked up into the crowd and my whole family and several fans of the basketball program from the community were cheering. I’m so thankful that they were all there to celebrate with me.”

And her scoring streak didn’t end at 1,000 … Avery ended her senior year with a total of 1,111 career points scored.

While her sister Riley played Division 2 basketball for a year in college, Avery is taking a different trajectory. She’s made the decision not to play college ball, but instead will major in pre-med at Western Michigan University starting this fall.

“This is my accomplishment and I’m really proud of it,” she said. “I work really hard and always put my whole heart into everything that I do, so to achieve something like this makes me feel like my hard work has paid off.

“I have been part of some really great teams in my high school career, which made this possible,” she concluded. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported girls basketball all these years.”

Avery celebrates her achievement with her family and friends.