By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Julia Celis wasn’t expecting the recognition she’s been getting following her senior season at Harlingen South.
Despite tallying 61 steals, 14 blocks and coming down with 107 rebounds, the second-year letterman didn’t think awards were on the horizon. But her efforts earned Celis the Valley Morning Star’s 2019-2020 All-STAR Defensive Player of the Year award.
“It feels very rewarding to know all the hard work pays off,” Celis said. “It was surprising, honestly. Yes, I put forth my best effort and hustled every play, I just wasn’t aware that people actually noticed, so this feels nice. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my coach.”
The road to recognition was long for Celis. She played her first two seasons in the Lady Hawks program with the JV dark team and was a bit wild on the court. Harlingen South coach Kelly Garrett saw her potential and worked with Celis to refine her skills.
“My coaches have controlled me defensively. I used to just go out there and foul like crazy, and my coaches disciplined me and molded me into a controlled defensive player,” Celis said. “(My style of play is) fast. I’m not a slow player, which can be good and bad. I love to get a steal and make a fast break.”
Celis’ dedication to the sport made her more than just a defensive standout, turning her into a well-rounded player. She averaged 6.4 points per game for the Lady Hawks and recorded the team’s only double-double in the season, a feat she achieved Nov. 12 to help South defeat McAllen Memorial 48-41 behind a 12 point, 10 rebound performance.
“She’s just a kid that leaves it all on the court every night, she doesn’t hold anything back. From tipoff to the final buzzer she’s going to give it everything she’s got, and she’s nonstop, just all over the court,” Garrett said. “She’s just a skinny thing, I don’t even know how she makes some of the plays she does. She’s just an athlete and such a hard worker.”
One of Celis’ favorite memories from her time with the Lady Hawks is playing tournament games against San Antonio competition. She said getting blocks is one of the best feelings on the court, and doing that against girls “a head or two taller” will be one of the things she remembers most.
Something the program will remember about Celis is her work ethic. Garrett said even while Celis held a job last summer, Garrett still found her in the gym before clocking in, doing workouts and refining her skills.
“For some kids it comes naturally, the skills and the basketball IQ, but Jules had to work her tail off on her skills to get to where she’s at. She earned her spot,” Garrett said. “She’s a hard worker on the court but she’s also one of the top kids in her class. She’s an awesome kid. The younger kids see that, and they know the expectations.”
Celis will be attending the University of Texas at Austin in the fall to pursue a career in physical therapy, but it won’t be easy for her to move on from the sport she’s been playing since first grade. It’ll be harder still to leave her coaches and teammates. Celis and her seven senior teammates have been playing together since seventh grade, and the chemistry they have has been pivotal for Harlingen South’s success.
But she finds peace in knowing the journey that led her to the All-STAR defensive award will be a beacon of light for Lady Hawks to come.
“I hope that the underclassmen recognize the way I worked and the way I played the game, and they see that it pays off,” Celis said. “Being controlled, being disciplined, working hard will get you somewhere, and it won’t go unnoticed. I wasn’t on varsity until my junior year, so (I want them to see) you don’t have to be a four-year varsity player to get recognized.”