NW Girls b-ball Player Profile of the Week #14

Southwest Washington NW Girl's B-ball Impact player profile;

LEJLA MLIVIC

Hockinson High School
Class of 2009 #11

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Born in Sarajebo, Bosnia and coming to the US at age 3, Lejla is the only child of Amela & Nehru. The family came here, to the Vancouver area, fleeing war torn Bosnia with a group of family members and friends. They had other family members already here in the Vancouver area, and decided that the Great Northwest would be the place for them. Relocating is hard enough, language barriers and cultural difference must have made it feel impossible at times. But the Mlivic family hung in there and have to some extent flourished.

Plugging their daughter into every possible social activity, to help her adjust, Lejla gravitated to basketball, playing at the YMCA and The Hoop as a youngster. Coach Kenny Kirkland took particular interest in Lejla and inspired her to work hard and develop her skills, telling her she could reach great heights in the sport.

Reaching great heights, she has done that, and continues too. Now a second year varsity player, and one of the leaders of the Hawk's, Lejla's set her sites on the state tournament, and possibly playing at the 'next level'. Hockinson reached the State Tournament this year for the first time in school history. And Lejla was honored with 1st Team All League 2A honors. A National Honor Society student, with a 4.0 GPA, and o'yeah she volunteers at Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital, 4 hours every Saturday, in the 'Family Birthing Unit, you can't help but root for her success.

getting to know a little about Lejla; favorite movie - Coach Carter, favorite song - Amazed by You, by Lonestar; favorite class - A.P. Biology; hobbies include scrap booking, watching basketball and hanging with teammates and friends. The support she gets from her parents, she says pushes her along. She's already received a number of Academic Scholarships and hopes that a college will take some interest in her game and let her play for them. I think it would be a mistake for a college not to give her a chance. Good luck.