NA’s MARTINDALE SETS THE BAR HIGH
Rachel Martindale has been on the varsity basketball team at North Allegheny for four seasons. For such an accomplished player, she has spent her share of time on the bench.
As a freshman, Martindale did not want to leave her teammates behind. So, she volunteered as the junior varsity water girl, rushing in water bottles during timeouts and breaks in the action to her classmates. In addition to hydrating her friends, she also coached them up, offering encouragement and insight as the games progressed.
“How many kids do you know of that would do something like that,” wondered North Allegheny varsity coach Spencer Stefko, who took the reigns during Martindale’s freshman season.
Fast forward to Martindale’s junior year last season and the unthinkable happens in the WPIAL championship game: She tears her ACL and is done for the remainder of the season, just moments before her team wins the title. It was a gutwrenching turn of events for Martindale, as well as the Tigers, who were undefeated at that point. This time, relocating to the bench was not what she had in mind. However, Martindale took it in stride.
Rather than pout about what had happened, Martindale’s selfless nature once again took charge. She found herself on the bench, coaching up her teammates, passing out water and helping in any way she could. She had her knee surgery and then rehabbed better than expected and was cleared to play a few weeks ago. Martindale did anything she could to show her teammates she was still with them while fighting on her own to get back to being the player she was.
“I think inside she was miserable and in her heart she was hurt,” said Stefko. “But she never let it show on her face.”
While she never let on, Martindale was in pain physically and emotionally as she pushed through grueling physical therapy sessions and watched the Tigers eventually fall in the PIAA semifinals to Central Bucks South, 52-49.
It’s hard not to wonder what could have been had the Tigers’ best player and Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 selection remained intact. The 5-9 guard averaged 15.4 points per game with a defensive ability that rivaled her offensive prowess.
“It was definitely an emotional time,” she said. “It was hard sitting there on the bench and not being able to help your team. Rehabbing was definitely a challenge, too. It was hard to go through that.”
Now that it is all behind her, Martindale never wants to sit on the bench again.
North Allegheny has had a few scrimmages and Martindale has played about 80 percent of the available minutes. Stefko said the side effects of an injury like hers are not apparent. Martindale can slide defensively, elevate for rebounds, rotate in both traps and presses, and has shown a quick first step and burst with the ball.
And that smooth shot of hers? Yeah, that never went away. Prior to a PIAA quarterfinal game against Bethel Park, Martindale set down her crutches, hopped on one foot onto the court and swished a 3pointer just for fun as her team was warming up.
“I haven’t seen her change her game,” said Stefko. “If an injury were to effect her, I certainly don’t think it would be her shot, either.”
Martindale said the most challenging part was the mental hurdle of stepping back on the court and doing what she was able to do before. While it has not been a long time away, it sure felt like it to her.
“It was just mental at the beginning,” she said. “I feel pretty good, there’s no problems so far.”
Martindale is a unique presence. She plays with a Division I talent and sees the game through a coach’s eyes.
“Having her in the lineup is important to us, but it’s even more important to have her in the gym,” said Stefko.
“She was important as a playercoach down the stretch. When you have a conversation with her, it’s a really high-level conversation. She sees things some of the rest of us don’t see and she can do things some of the rest of us can’t. Watching her work with the young kids is amazing. She’s a teacher. She’s just incredible to have around. We’re lucky to have her.”
Despite her setback, Martindale feels lucky for a lot of things. She’s grateful that she has one more high school season to play, with that state title in her crosshairs. She’s also thankful that Akron stuck by her the entire time. Martindale is also a star softball player and had committed to play that sport at Pitt. But she opened up her recruitment last year and decided she wanted to play basketball at Akron. The actions of the Zips’ staff made her feel like she made the right choice.
“They said, ‘This does not affect how we feel about you.’ That was an amazing feeling,” said Martindale. “It was a pretty easy choice after that one.”
Before heading off to Ohio, Martindale has some unfinished business in Pennsylvania. And no matter how much turmoil she personally went through last year, she wants her redemption story to feature a cast of characters.
“She definitely has her goals set very, very high for this team,” said Stefko. “There’s not a lot of kids that have their goals set high for the team. When you talk to her, she’s not talking about points or minutes. She’s talking about team stuff. It’s so rare in this day and age. So much is about the individual highlight reel and the points and the accolades. You don’t hear about any of that from her.”