Growing up in the Southwest Florida community of Cape Coral, McKenna Beach loved to play outside. She would spend hours shooting hoops in the driveway with her dad and her older brother, Kameron. Their target, a portable stand-up goal, took its fair share of abuse.
"It always fell over but my dad would just put it back up," Beach said. "After a while, he put it in the ground because it kept getting blown over."
Beach got her first taste of competitive basketball on a youth city league team which her dad coached. She remembers wearing a white Nike headband to emulate her brother, lacing up her sneakers and having fun with her teammates.
"My dad and his friend would always coach together, and his kids and I were always on the same team," Beach said. "We were always really good. We basically made it to the championship every year and we won a lot."
That winning carried over into middle school, where Beach's team went undefeated every game for three straight years - until the championship game her final season.
"We lost by about three and it was very devastating," Beach said. "I was pretty upset."
While the sting of that one loss stayed with her, Beach's love for the game grew deeper during her four-year prep career Cape Coral High School, where she developed into an All-State point guard and McDonald's All-American nominee. Her skills have continued to flourish during her first three years at Stetson University, as has her competitive spirit and drive to win.
"I am really competitive but for me it comes down to self-pride," Beach said. "I always want to win, but I'm not so competitive that I'm a trash talker. I've never been like that. I just take pride in the things I do which makes me really competitive."
Despite playing a pressure-packed position, Beach says she has always been comfortable and confident at the point.
"I really enjoy it because you can control the game," Beach said. "You can control where the ball goes or when things get all messed up and the ball comes back to you, you have a say in what happens next. You are responsible for making sure the team is calm because a lot of times you go through sloppy stages in the game. Sometimes just holding the ball for a couple seconds and getting everyone in their place – and everyone's like 'okay, this is a familiar alignment' and it calms them down. You can just really control your team, and I like having that responsibility."
The Hatter senior has developed into one of the premier players in the ASUN, earning second team all-conference honors last season after averaging 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She also recorded 120 assists and set the school record for most minutes played in a season with 1,180.
This year, she has already been named to the preseason all-conference team.
Head Coach Lynn Bria says having a leader like Beach out on the court makes her job a lot easier.
"I've often said McKenna could run the team," Bria said. "She can teach them our offense, she can teach them our defense, she just executes at the highest level. She has turned out to be an incredible player. She is the epitome of what a coach would want.
"She is relentless in her pursuit of being the best," Bria added. Her work ethic, her determination, and her toughness have made her into the player she is."
Now that Beach is about to begin her senior season, she values the importance of every game and every moment at practice.
"When I was younger, Coach Bria always said to put ourselves in the seniors' shoes because it's their last year and their last chance to win a championship," Beach said. "And you don't really realize it until you're there. You can try and put yourself in seniors' shoes when you're younger, but it never really compares to now where you just have a real sense of urgency. Everything has to be done now. You want your team to be great now, and come together now."
So Beach has been hard at work preparing herself and her team for the upcoming season, which for the Hatters begins Tuesday afternoon at Tulsa. She has enjoyed helping the new players transition into the program, including tutoring them on the team's offensive system, which she says takes time to learn.
"When the coaches aren't available or players just want to do something at night, I'm available to help them watch film or just go through the offense on the board. I can show them where they should be or what alignment means what play."
"Watching McKenna and seeing all the extra work she puts in shows me that I have a long way to go to be the point guard that she is and the leader that she is," freshman Mackenzie Davis said. "She has really helped me with my shooting and my form in practice, and she even helps me understand some of coach Bria's lingo."
Beach also helps the younger players off the court with time management issues, academic questions, or even small details like when to eat and what to eat. She says the time bonding with her teammates helps create trust, something every good team needs to have to be successful on the court.
"Knowing your teammates on and off the court is really important because ultimately when you get blown by in the game or something you have to trust someone to help you. You have to trust people will be there to help pick you up."
"She is so much more comfortable in regards to being a leader and handling tough situations," Bria said. "She has just grown so much in that regard. She was always a leader by her walk, but now she is a leader by her talk. She says the hard thing, but yet the players like her and respect her, and that makes a special leader."
A Health Science major, Beach plans on attending medical school when her basketball career is over and pursuing a career in orthopedics. She has been interested in helping people with injuries return to their sport or even back to their normal life ever since she herself overcame two separate ACL surgeries in high school.
Her career in medicine will surely come down the road. For now, Beach's focus is on the upcoming season and helping Stetson get back to the NCAA Tournament.
"She is a joy to coach, and she is beloved by her teammates - I just hate that she is a senior," Bria said. "I am sure glad she is here and she is on my team."
Following Tuesday's opener at Tulsa, the Hatters will play their home opener on Nov. 14 against UCF. Season tickets start at just $75 for all basketball games and be purchased online (GoHatters.com/tix) or at the Edmunds Center ticket office.
Coming Monday: 5 Things to know about Stetson Basketball
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
