by By Dan Ninham
The word “Champion” has special significance at the state high school level as being the best of the best. The word “Champion” at the national level has a deeper significance toward being the elite of the elite. Team members of the 4A Hopkins HS Royals girls’ basketball program in Minnesota are in the midst of extending their legacies as players and coaches.
Alayna Contreras, 16, is a junior basketball point guard at Hopkins HS in Minnesota. Her parents are Fhonda and Michael Contreras.
“My tribe is Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe,” said Alayna.
The Ojibwe tribal core values of Alayna Contreras defined who she is on and off the court.
“I strive to the best and take care of Mother Earth as much as possible,” said Alayna. “Kindness and caring are a big part of my life. Treat others with respect and respect will come back.”
Alayna wears the number 4 on her game jersey throughout the year. The number 4 is significant in Ojibwe culture.
“My father’s number was 24 throughout his basketball career so I kept a part of his number but I wanted it to be my own too,” said Alayna.
The number 4 could also mean next summer her team will be vying for their fourth consecutive AAU national championship.
“I play basketball and run track,” said Alayna. “Our team accomplishments include being Minnesota Class A State High School Champions in 2019. I was named Honorable Mention All Conference basketball for two years.”
“Other accomplishments include being AAU National Champions three years in a row in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and MN AAU State champions for two years. I’ve been to track state meet two years, have been named All State and All Conference in track. I’ve also been a letter winner in track and basketball since eighth grade,” added Alayna.
Brian Cosgriff was the head coach leader in building a dynasty at Hopkins HS in Minnesota basketball. He recently retired this past July. The 2019-20 season was canceled during the state tournament due to the pandemic.
The Hopkin’s HS Royals girls’ basketball team was featured in a video series “All Eyes On Us” last season by SLAM Magazine. One of the draws of the team was Paige Bueckers. She was the #1 ranked recruit in the country and will be playing at UConn this season. She was one major piece of the puzzle among many other major pieces that made a solid team.
At the beginning of the first video episode, the following words were on the screen: “The Hopkins Royals are in the midst of a 45-game winning streak. Their last loss was in March 2018. Coach Brian Cosgriff has won seven state championships in the last 20 years.”
Alayna Contreras was introduced at the 5:10 mark of the first episode of the SLAM “All Eyes On Us” video: https://youtu.be/Jm7IlSMwgp4 She was also in all of the other episodes.
Leaders of dynasties have a tremendous amount of help in the building of legacies. New coach Tara Starks worked closely with Coach Brian Cosgriff with off-season training.
“I have 25 plus years of coaching experience,” said Coach Tara Starks. “I’ve coached at Minneapolis North in the early 2000’s for 10 years. I most recently coached AAU for North Tartan and MN Metro Stars. I have had a ton of success in AAU winning the Nike Nationals 2018 and six straight AAU state titles, AAU Super Showcase National title and many others.”
“Alayna has had a ton of growth,” said Coach Tara Starks. “I saw her leadership flourish when she began getting girls together for small group workouts throughout the pandemic. She would lead them through ball handling and shooting drills. She began to understand her strengths and playing to her strength. Finding her spots on the floor, shooting the ball with confidence, utilizing her speed to beat defenders off the dribble. She will be a major contributor this season and I’m anticipating a breakout season for her.”
“My dad has been my coach since I started playing basketball,” said Alayna.
Dad Michael Contreras said: “I have coached her since she started basketball in kindergarten. This is the first summer I have not coached her and she is in great hands with coach Tara Starks. Coach Brian Cosgriff also helped in the process and did a great job.”
“Off the court Alayna is friendly and a organizer,” said dad Michael Contreras. “She loves her teammates and is always organizing outings and get-togethers that are non-basketball related like beach days, mall trips and just hanging out off the court. She has a 3.8 GPA so she schoolwork is great and she is self-driven.”
“On the court she is the point guard and she’s learning to be a coach on the floor. She’s getting people in their correct places, listening to her coach and is very coachable. She is looking forward to her new coach Starks and will miss coach Brian Cosgriff. He brought her along great. Her communication skills are coming along and she looks forward to the season for the Hopkins Royals. Expectations are great and she welcomes that,” added Michael.
“Someone who positively influenced me as an athlete is Paige Bueckers,” said Alayna. “Being her teammate I’ve witnessed how hard she works and how it pays off. She not only makes herself better but also makes her whole team better. She always pushed us to be our best and won’t accept less.”
“Paige Bueckers drew a lot of attention to our Hopkins teams. We got our own mini-reality TV show for a season that’s on YouTube which is cool,” added Alayna.
The attention is still coming for the Hopkins teams.
Photo Credit: Crissha Walton
