SARASOTA (SNN-TV) – Leah DuBose is a four-year varsity player and co-captain for Booker High’s Lady Tornadoes basketball team, and she’s also a four-year icon educationally.
Leah, a full-time dual enrolled student at State College of Florida, stands at the top her class touting a 5.0 GPA. DuBose puts her education on a pedestal and lets her athletic success follow suit.
“It’s something that I take pride in. People think that it’s strictly athletic, like who could score the most points, or get the most rebounds? But, to me how hard do you work on the court, it translates into the classroom. But its really the classroom translates on the court.” – Leah DuBose
DuBose is a part of a Booker squad who currently sits at 19-7 on the season, and is a top seed in the Class 4A regional tournament following their District 11 Championship win over Avon Park.
Lady Tornadoes head coach Ty Bryant has known Leah since the 4th grade, citing her as an integral part of why he took the job at Booker in 2020. Bryant says Leah’s caring demeanor and her good rapport with her teammates makes her to be an essential cog in the Booker machine.
“We actually call her ‘Grandmama’ its kind of her nickname. She’s the mother over the team, she wants to make sure everyone’s okay. She always thinks of others before she thinks of herself. It’s been a privilege to coach a young lady like that. You have a lot of kids with different issues, lots of things going in life. She comes in the gym and you can never tell rather its a good day or bad day.” – Coach Ty Bryant
Bryant strives for success on the court, but also is a proponent of handling your business in the classroom. Last season the Lady Tornadoes where academic champions with a cumulative team GPA of 3.8+. DuBose said working alongside Coach Bryant and her teammates helped mold her into the Student-Athlete she is today.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, because there’s times where I though I could do it all myself, and put that heavy load on myself. But, I asked, I got the help and they gave me strategies that I didn’t have in the beginning which helped me out in the long run.” – Leah DuBose
Through the success she’s achieved herself and with her teammates, Coach Bryant knows that Leah has positioned herself for continued triumph following her time at Booker.
“She doesn’t ask anything from her teammates that she doesn’t demand from herself. Outstanding leadership in the classroom and also on the court. That’s what you want, that’s a full athlete, a student-athlete. A lot of people don’t really appreciate those type of young ladies. We’ll celebrate the ones that’ll go pro as far as sports wise. She’s going to go pro at life, there’s no doubt about that, she’s going to be successful at life.” – Coach Ty Bryant
