Aly Lish
Aly Lish is a junior at Sandpoint High School and is passionate about sports. This is her first year attending SHS as her family moved here in August from a small town in Southeastern Idaho. According to Aly, athletics is a huge part of her family life, with Aly’s favorite time of year being the state basketball tournaments.
“I grew up watching state games since my dad coached for many years. I've participated in volleyball, basketball and track every year. I've gone to state in basketball once and track twice, bringing home the state runner-up trophy for our girls track team last year,” said Aly.
In addition to playing for the Bulldog’s basketball team, Aly also played on the Bulldog’s volleyball team this year, traveling to the state tournament. And when basketball season is over, Aly looks forward to playing on the SHS golf team this spring.
One of the challenges Aly has faced in high school sports is being a young player, having started playing on varsity her freshman year in both volleyball and basketball.
“I've had to perform at a higher level with the upperclassmen. I've had to work very hard in practice to reach a deeper knowledge of all aspects of the game and develop confidence in my skills,” said Aly. “This has given me experience to look back on now that I'm a junior.”
Aly has a 3.8 GPA and is currently exploring options for colleges where she plans to study graphic design. Among the schools she is considering are BYU-Idaho, ISU and Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
Being involved in athletics, Aly said she has learned to push through difficult times. “When things aren't coming together as easy, keep giving it your best and eventually things will fall into place,” she said.
While Sandpoint High School junior Kobe Banks transferred to SHS just this year from Clark Fork, he is already making his mark on the basketball court for the Bulldogs.
While at Clark Fork, Kobe was all-league and MVP his freshman and sophomore years and made the Eastern Elite basketball team in Spokane his freshman year where he played in multiple NCAA sanctioned tournaments throughout the West Coast.
While he says that his biggest challenge has been typically being the smallest guy on the court, he has overcome that by maintaining a positive mental attitude.
“I look at that like the saying, ‘You’re only as old as you feel,’” said Kobe. “I’m as tall as I need to be to execute on offense and defense.”
He said that basketball is his main passion, and hunting and snowmobiling are hobbies he enjoys in his spare time. Kobe shares that his goal is to play basketball four years at a Division I college, preferably Gonzaga. “But I would go anywhere that I can continue to play basketball beyond high school,” he said.
Kobe plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with the goal of one day coaching basketball at a high level where he can continue to pursue his passion for basketball; a sport he says he loves everything about.
“I love every piece of it. Everything taught in basketball can be used as part of your daily life. Teamwork, leadership, discipline, hard work, dedication, hustle, heart, defense, IQ, etc.,” said Kobe.
He credits his dad with imparting a life lesson on him that he will carry with him always. “You can’t teach hard work and hustle—you either have it or you don’t, and that goes through all aspects of life,” said Kobe.