A typical coach has a wide collection of players on a given team. Coaches work with multiple types of personalities, attitudes and attributes. Some players talk big, and some let their playing say it all. 

At Olympus High School, girls basketball coach Whitney Hunsaker has Keily Trabanino, who has unassumingly gotten better and better each year. This season, Trabanino is a team leader and the Titans’ leading scorer. 

“[Trabanino] has been a player that I have loved watching grow and develop,” Hunsaker said. “She is a ‘quiet’ kid, but year after year, she has come in better than the year before and ‘talked’ with her game. She was voted a team captain this year and has done a great job of using her basketball IQ and skills to lead the team. This year she has done a great job of absorbing her role of a scorer and even better defender but also being that team captain. We love ‘Trab’ and think she is a valuable asset to our team.”

Through seven games, the Titans are 4-3, and Trabanino is scoring at a clip of 13.3 points an outing. She also averages four rebounds a contest to go along with 2.4 assists and 3.1 steals. She also leads the team in those latter two categories. Her numbers have gotten better every year she has been on the team. As a junior last season, she was fourth on the team with an average of 8.2 points a game. She also averaged 3.5 points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals. As a sophomore, she played sparingly and scored 16 points in 24 games. 

Trabanino has embraced her new role. She loves the group of girls on the team and appreciates the support of the coaching staff. This being her last year as a Titan player, she will have fond memories of her experience on the team. 

“The best thing about playing for Olympus is that we have an amazing coaching staff,” she said. “I also love the positive environment here at Olympus. The thing I enjoy the most about the team is the memories we have created through the years like going out to eat after games, going up to a cabin and going to St. George for camps. I also love how welcoming they are. They just make everyone feel included.”

Growing up, basketball was never really on Trabanino’s radar. She decided to give basketball a try largely because her dream of playing soccer didn’t pan out. 

“My first time playing basketball was in seventh grade at my junior high,” she said. “I honestly didn’t really like it because at that time, soccer was my favorite sport. I tried out for soccer my freshman year of high school and didn’t make it, and that's one of the main reasons I got interested in basketball instead.” 

Hunsaker is happy things worked out the way they did. Trabanino has also changed her tune about the sport and now loves that she has been able to develop strong relationships with her teammates. 

“The thing I enjoy the most about the game is how it brings everyone together on and off the court,” she said. 

This season, Trabanino got off to a slow start, as Payson held her to five points in the season opener Nov. 17. She also had 7 points Dec. 7 against Cottonwood. However, in her other five games during the first seven, she has scored at least 12 points. Her season high during this stretch was Dec. 8 against Mountain Crest when she tallied 21 points. She also recorded a season-best six steals in that game to go along with a season-high five assists. Four night later, Dec. 12 against Taylorsville, she had 20 points, including a career high-tying four three-pointers. She also had her best rebounding game of the season up to that point with seven. 

Trabanino is fast and is adept at getting past defenders. She can advance to the rim quickly, helping her get easy buckets and set up teammates. She is also a good floor general and knows how to the run the offense and get everyone on the same page. 

“Something I bring to the team is teamwork,” she said. “I believe a team works better together.”

At the same time, Trabanino is working hard to improve her communication skills on the court, something she knows a leader needs to do. She also wants to be a more consistent player. She believes the Titans are capable of winning Region 6, something the team has done the past two seasons, sharing the title with Highland both times with a 10-2 mark. Achieving that will require effort every day in practice. 

“The goal that I have for the team is to win the region again,” she said. “Another goal I want everyone on my team to have is to always give excellence during practice and during games and just make each other better.”

Still, Trabanino isn’t getting ahead of herself and looking too far down the road. She said it’s important to focus on each game as it comes and improve every day. She said not only the starters but everyone on the team needs to be focused and dedicated. Having a deep bench will also go a long way toward being successful, she said. 

The Titans finished the month of December with a game at Davis on Dec. 19, followed by a contest at Timpview on Dec. 30. Region 6 action gets underway Jan. 3 at Highland. λ