“The second I stepped on campus I knew it was my choice.”

These were the words of Jim Thorpe senior Kayley Kovac after she signed a letter of intent to attend St. Francis University in Loretto on a full scholarship.

Kovac, currently ranked No. 1 academically in her class, said from the style of basketball that the Red Flash plays, to the career education she wants to learn, St. Francis is the perfect school for her.

“They play up tempo and that’s what I think I do best,” she said, “and I want to be a physical therapist and St. Francis has a great six-year program for a doctorate degree.”

“When we first visited, we talked to the academic advisor and the head of the physical therapy program. That made a huge impression on us,” said her father and Jim Thorpe girls’ basketball coach Rob Kovac.

Kovac recalled that his daughter was walking around in diapers in the Panther Valley gym when he coached there in 2000.

“Whether it was forced upon her or not, we are a basketball family and Kayley learned to love the game early on,” said Kovac. “She grew up in a gym. We even made her manager when she was old enough to handle the responsibility.”

Kayley was recruited by several schools, but she called off the dogs and made a verbal commitment to St. Francis last May. According to her father, what sealed the deal for Red Flash coach Joe Haigh was not Kayley’s athletic skill, court smarts, or the fact that she has averaged over 25 points a game during her career.

“They came to watch her play in an AAU game and that happened to be one of the few games her team lost,” said Kovac. “With less than a minute to go and down by 10 points, an opposing player broke free and headed in uncontested for an easy layup. Kayley chased her down and blocked the shot. That effort impressed them since the outcome of he game had already been decided.”

Entering her senior season at Jim Thorpe, Kayley is just 47 points shy of surpassing Celeste Robinson to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. She scored her 1,000th point during her sophomore season.

“She’s always been a go to the basket player, and coach Haigh said they expect her to contribute immediately,” said Kovac. “They do play 10 or 11 girls a night to keep them fresh for the whole game, so there will be opportunity.”

The Red Flash are expected to compete for a title in the Northeast Conference this season, and will return a strong nucleus of starters next year, including their top scorer.

“Coach Haigh told me that I would have to compete for playing time next year,” Kayley said. “I thrive on competition so I’m excited to have that opportunity. I’ve always dreamed of playing in an NCAA tournament, and we should have plenty of seasons to qualify at St. Francis.”

One could tell that Kayley’s mother, Lauren, was holding in her pride the moment that her daughter signed her name to commit to St, Francis. When asked to reflect upon the meaning of the moment, she found the words to express her feelings.

“This is pretty amazing,” she said. “Since the third grade, Kayley has worked so hard and put so much effort into getting to this day and to St. Francis. A lot of people dream their child will earn an athletic scholarship. Well, today our dream became real.

‘Everything is driving her to play and go to school there.”

The “drive” for the Kovac family will be a three-hour trek on Route 80.

Coach Kovac expects to attend as many games as he can, but when Kayley’s game schedule conflicts with his Jim Thorpe games, he can watch Kayley play on live-streaming TV on his computer.

When asked how he might feel watching his daughter from the stands rather than from a coach’s bench, he said he was looking forward to it.

“I can turn off the coach light and be a parent and just like every other fan, I’ll enjoy watching her play.”

With her final season at Jim Thorpe about to begin, Kayley has set her sites on one thing and one thing only.

“We have a good team, and my focus is on helping us win a lot of games and make this a memorable season,” she said.

In the future, Kayley plans to help create memorable seasons for the St. Francis Red Flash.