Frutell Does It All For Titans
As a young child she watched her two older brothers play and observed her father coaching, but that wasn't the beginning for Dominion junior Jackie Futrell. It all started right outside her house at their basketball hoop. Her family would scrimmage two-on-two, Jackie and her father against the two boys, Jef and J.R. Her brothers didn’t take it easy on her, seeing no reason to baby her. Futrell's parents soon realized that their only little girl would be just as athletic and as tenacious as their sons.
So it’s no surprise that even from the beginning she was good.
‘’In third grade, Jackie hit five baskets in a game on her birthday, an unusually high amount for a 3 rd grader," remembers her father, Jim Futrell.
For a girl who's played basketball most of her life, it is no surprise that several years later she'd be a double threat on the basketball court-- as an aggressive, defensive player and a strong outside shooter. As she’s improved, one thing has remained the same, she’s always outside working on her game.
“Even when it snows, I'm out there,” she says.
Futrell is a third-year starting shooting guard on the varsity and is on pace to become the school’s first four-year player. Basketball is her love and passion.
Futrell also ran cross country her freshman and sophomore year, and started playing lacrosse this past year. Futrell is the perfect image of the “student-athlete”. She is well rounded, and active throughout the school and community. Undoubtedly, she would not be where she is today without the support of her mother, her father, and two older brothers.
“I think she has always grown up trying to chase her older brothers,” Futrell says. “She has followed suit to be just as good as them, if not better.”
“I find it satisfying that I can finally beat my brothers at something,” says Futrell. “I can beat my brother on the basketball court when we play horse.”
Futrell is the holder of three records at Dominion with most steals in a game (six), most three pointers in a game (four, coming in two minutes), and most three pointers in a season (16). As a freshman, she was awarded the Titans’ defensive player of the year.
She started playing basketball in the Eastern Loudoun Basketball League. Beginning in third grade, her father was her coach until seventh grade when she started playing for a travel team, the Lasers.
Futrell has carried on this fun-loving attitude. “The one thing that sets Jackie apart from other players is that she is able to enjoy the game, while still working her hardest and succeeding out there on the court,” says senior teammate Meggie Meidlinger, “Not only is she a good player, she’s a great person to be around and helps encourage and support the rest of the team.”
This year her most challenging class is AP Biology. It is her most difficult class, yet it is her favorite. She would like to major in sports medicine and become a physical therapist. Futrell has a 3.7 GPA and was just inducted into the National Honor Society. She is the Vice President of Spanish club and a member of the Varsity Club. Futrell has earned two academic letters and is working toward receiving an activity letter by completing 100 hours of community service. She is active with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds home for underprivileged families. Last year, she volunteered at Sterling Elementary shelving books in the library. And for the last four years, she has taken time out of the holiday season to ring the bell for the Salvation Army.
“I'm freakishly organized,” she says. In her agenda, everything is color-coded and organized. She's the type of person that must write everything down. “And then highlight it once I've done it,” she says. She also has a white board on her bedroom door listing what she has to do for the week. “I use any spare moment I can get,” says Futrell. “I don't waste any time. It just takes organization.”
Upon first glance, you would never imagine her to be a feisty player. This brown-hair, brown-eyed girl is 5-foot-4 with a small build. She likes to watch men’s college basketball and her favorite team is the Maryland Terps.
In clubhouse (home room) the Titans were required to write down their
goals. “I had two goals to achieve before leaving high school,” she says. “One, to be inducted into National Honor Society. And two, to be featured in Gameday Magazine.” It looks like Futrell needs two new things to write on her goal sheet.
