Believe it or not, Taylor Mason Snider did not even start playing basketball until fifth grade. She had always been tall for her age and many people told her that basketball would be a great sport for her height. It wasn’t until a little a game of one-on-one with a cousin that she realized that she wanted to learn the game and be great at it. She started playing on her grammar school squad and the rest, well; the rest is something like history…

The first few years after fifth grade, Taylor learned the game. She learned from various coaches around the Chicago land area such as retired Golden State player Sonny Parker, Over seas elite player Sha’ Hopson, Marshall graduate, Kim McQuarter and yes, one of the best, her father, Kevin Snider. Each year she improved and she helped her team progress. Her 8th grade year she led the team through in undefeated season and winning the Catholic Conference Championship. Great things were only to come next in her basketball career.

After graduating from grammar school, Taylor’s next phase of her life was to be lived. She was attending Whitney Young Magnet High School, and she would also be one of two freshmen coming in on the varsity team. She worked very hard and found out what type of work ethic you need to not only be a tenacious athlete, but a tremendous student. She also found out how vital sleep was with her first ever 6 a.m. practices. She was able to learn how to balance all of her time and with her tough work ethic, and good time management, she earned a starting position as a freshman on the Varsity Team.

During Taylor’s first season the team did pretty well, and so did she. She averaged about eight points and eight rebounds as a 4 position forward. Being only 5’9”, it was always a joy to see Taylor demand rebounds against taller forwards.

Sophomore year came and Taylor started off very strong. She had a year of experience under her belt, and she wanted the team to win not only the city championship, but the state championship also. The first half of the season went extremely well. Taylor helped her team by not always being the scorer, but getting the key rebounds, setting the right screens, and passing assists. At the turning point of the season, the Lady Dolphins played a game verse Winnetka’s New Trier. At the half, Taylor had a career high of fifteen rebounds. During the third quarter, Taylor went up for a rebound and came down wrong, bruising the patella bone, and tearing her meniscus. This put her out for the remainder of her sophomore season.

This accident was unfortunate, but it only made her stronger. The off-season was very important, and she wanted to do everything that she could to get ready for the next year. This year was also important because she was going to be a junior, the key time for recruitment from colleges. Going into her junior year, Taylor had several colleges interested in her. She wasn’t concerned though, she knew that she would find the best place for herself. Junior year was the team’s best year. They won the city championship and also placed third in the state. In a particular game vs. Bartlett, the game was going back and forth with every play. After first half adjustments, Taylor was placed on the other team’s best player who had twenty points at the half. Not only did Taylor lock her up, with her finishing with only six points in the second half, but she also hit the winning shot from the elbow to win the game.

The season flew by, and the summer was even more important than the season. Taylor played with the Indiana Family, playing in seven Nike Tournaments. Out of the seven tournaments the team won six including the first ever Nike National Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. There were over 400 college coaches, and there was also a lot of great competition. At the completion of the summer, Taylor had six years of basketball under her belt and one college in her future. In October 2005, Taylor committed to IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis) University. She would be playing under Coach Shan Heart. But there was a problem. Due to some complications with her high school coach, Taylor would not be playing her last year in high school. She found out that if she didn’t play her last year, she could not go through with her scholarship to IUPUI. Did she sacrifice her last year for college, or did she just decide on something else? After much confusion and deliberation, Taylor decided to still sit out her last year and renege on her commitment to IUPUI. As heart breaking as that might sound, it wasn’t.

Now this year, Taylor plays and works out as much as she can. She is completing her senior year at Whitney Young as a regular student. No more gracing the halls as a student athlete. Although she did not play her last year, that does not mean the end to her basketball career. Right now she is trying to decide whether she would like to play at DePaul University in Chicago, or Howard University in Washington D.C.