“I know they said the end is near
But I’m still on my tallest tiptoes
Spinning in my highest heels, love
Shining just for you. I’m still a believer but I don’t know why
I’ve never been a natural
All I do is try, try, try”
You don’t get to always pick your journey on the way to making your dreams come true. You don’t always have a ton of believers. In fact more often than not , you have people telling you to give up and settle. But sometimes there are kids willing to take the long ride. Walk that lonely road. That road, that has less than 1% of high school players walking on it these days. That road to DIVISION ONE BASKETBALL. JINEEN AYYASH Journey to D1 basketball has ended and just begun all at the same time. That’s because she has committed to playing at St. PETERS UNIVERSITY.
Nothing has ever come easy for Jineen Ayyash, she doesn’t look like most kids in the Shore Conference. She doesn’t have blue eyes and blonde hair. She’s Palestinian and her mother was born in Cuba. She has never had the golden ticket along the way. She was never one of the chosen ones until now. She has had to do something few kids are asked to do these days. Make the long trip to D1 without a silver spoon in her mouth. She has been constantly asked to take a back seat to others who were less talented. But she always cheered and rooted for others as their dreams came true . That’s because she knew her time would come. She knew her journey was different, that she was on a different bus. Well today Jineen Ayyash, is riding in the front of the bus because she’s doing the driving finally.
Jineen, has always been the type to accept challenges. She’s been that way since 4th grade. She was the kid who never missed a week of camp. She was the kid that showed up every week and yet never got that attention all kids crave. Yet it didn’t deter her from working hard and trying to be one of the best players at camp. She learned to work hard at an early age. It’s may be the reason she believed anything is possible. It may be the reason she has always embraced next level competition. She just has always had a strong belief in her talents. I guess when you work as hard as she does, you trust your ability more than most. It’s why she attended RBC as a freshman.
When Jineen Ayssh decided to attend RBC 4 years ago, most freshman were ducking the smoke and scared they would never play at the powerhouse. Jineen ran into the arms of RBC despite the 6 D1 seniors and the best freshman class in Shore history right behind them all primed to attend RBC. Many thought she was making a mistake. She thought she was in the right place with the right players. Yet when she started to shine, she tore her ACL and she knew it was time to move on. She then made the best move of her athletic career by moving on to play with her friends…THE 4 HORSEMAN AS THEY ARE KNOWN TODAY!
Ocean Twp has been a basketball powerhouse the last two years. They have been in the Top 20, won multiple Division Titles after not winning one since the days of George Washington. They were one of the Top 4 seeds in the best conference in the country. None of this happens, if Jineen Ayyash was still at RBC trying to convince them they had a star on their hand’s. When Jineen Ayyash, tired to will OCEAN TWP to a state chip title this year and lost. She was sensational and put a stamp on her greatness. It was bitter lost but a reminder of her greatness and the legacy she would leave behind. What she has accomplished for her teammates and school can never be put into words. But the truth of the matter is Jineen Ayyash was still searching for something. She wanted to be part of an exclusive club. So her journey continued long after many others had ended.
Non believers are quick to tell young people to settle. Especially when they get full scholarship offers from D2 schools. But Jineen has never been the settling type. She been the never stop type. So she walked away from the guarantees to chase where she rightfully belonged … on a D1 full ride and playing D1 basketball. So trained harder when most cannot when it gets late. She ran and lifted with more passion when most are too tied to continue the journey. She trusted her talent when most doubt there doubt. You see Jineen Ayyash, knew where she belonged. She knew despite her success and development. That she would never get crowned. She didn’t suck up to the right people. She trusted letting her game do her talking. Today her game has spoken loud and clear. Now she has another goal. To be the hardest worker in St. Peter’s history and to reward the St. Peter’s staff for doing what she always done… BELIEVE
Jineen parents Heidi and Amer Ayyash. Know what it’s like to watch a kid come from hell and back. They watched their daughter play with a torn meniscus an entire summer. When doctors told she wouldn’t make it though summer. They watched her recover from a ACL injury. They watched as other kids who were not as talented get their flowers. Yet their daughter got nothing. But they told Jineen, you’re in the gym 5 hours a day. They reminded her, that others talk about sacrifices, she makes them. For this is why she is where she is today. A ST.PETERS PEACOCK. The support of her family, along with her AAU Coach Mary Beth Chambers, her genius of a high school coach High School Coach Michael Lazur who allowed her to shine. Then of course Tracey Sabino and her Shoreshots organization, the only AAU family she has ever known. Have all played a role in giving the strength to see things though and not settle.
Now in the end as her recruiting started to pick up. As coaches finally started asking where she came from. Jineen must have sat back and thought. I have been her all the time waiting. She had been dismissed and overlooked so often it didn’t bother her. That’s because she has always made them sorry for over looking her. Somewhere she has to be laughing inside and going. I finally get the chance to say “no thank you”. Finally she gets to choose. And I can’t think of a better choice than St. Peter’s because it “felt like home and the right place” she said. Yesterday Jineen ask me a question that felt surreal. She said “do I call the coaches and tell them I made a decision”. It hit me like a ton of bricks because nobody throughout her journey ever thought about her feelings along the way. Now the final member of the 4 HORSEWOMAN senior class is off the board. She now she is a role model for her brothers Omar and Ahmad. She is now a reminder to every little girl with big talent and dreams. Never stop chasing your dreams and never let anyone tell you what your dreams should look like…. CONGRATULATIONS TO JINEEN AYYASH AND ST. PETERS !!
JINEEN AYYASH… OFFICAL VIDEO!!