At Dr. Dish Basketball, we love hearing about the continuous success of our users. We got the opportunity to reconnect and learn more about Jersey Wolfenbarger who was the number 7 Class of 2021 prospect and now plays at the University of Arkansas.
Jersey's childhood was filled with all kinds of sports from Cross Country and Track to Volleyball, and Ballet. After trying a little bit of everything, Jersey remembers that nothing compared to basketball. She committed to basketball completely. She would eat sleep and breathe basketball and even dribbled to school when her family lived 2 blocks away!
Jersey’s parents are former athletes themselves and helped provide a blueprint and support for her career. However, it was on Jersey to find her own motivation to train. She said, “They have always been supportive of my career, but they never forced me to train.”
When Jersey moved to Arkansas and entered her Freshman year at Fort Smith Northside High School her goal was to win a state championship. In response her Head Coach told her, "We want to win more than one". As a freshman, Jersey earned her playing time through consistent hard work and quickly became a leader on the team.
Before moving to Arkansas, Jersey remembers training with shooting machines at her old school. They were clunky, would break down, and not user friendly. When she arrived to Northside she saw the school had a Dr. Dish All-Star machine. She started using the machine and loved how easy it was to setup and track stats. She used it all the time and said, "I would even hide the extension cord at times to make sure the boys wouldn't have a chance to mess anything up".
Jersey was constantly focused on perfecting her craft and spent countless hours on the Dr. Dish All-Star. When we asked Northside's Head Coach about Jersey's impact on the program and training on the Dish he said,
We have a special player who received offers from almost everyone and she absolutely wears that Dish machine out! The Dish has had such a big part in boosting our program and it shows with our 7 State Titles, a National Ranking of #11, and the level of play that Jersey and others have taken their games to. It really is an incredible tool!"
-Coach Rickey Smith, Fort Smith Northside High School, Head Girls Basketball Coach, 99, 00, 01, 02, 06, 13, 19 Arkansas State Champions, Nike Elite Team
Jersey achieved her goal of helping her team win a state championship in 2019 and again in 2020 like Coach Smith had hoped. Working out with the Dr. Dish All-Star helped Jersey improve her shooting going from averaging 15 ppg in the 2019 state tournament to averaging 19 ppg in the 2020 state tournament. Jersey has also received numerous individual accolades acknowledging her hard work. When asked about her accolades she said "at the end of the day I have always centered my goals around team success! "
Jersey's Junior Season and Coach Rickey Smith
Jersey recently earned a spot on the USA U19 World Cup Roster. She was one of 5 players competing for 3 roster spots. The first game is scheduled for August 7th 2021 and we can't wait to watch Jersey compete for Team USA.
Jersey is also gearing up for her freshman year at the University of Arkansas this fall. She is looking forward to being apart of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and travelling to all the different basketball facilities and competing.
One piece of advice she wants to leave with other high school athletes who are transitioning into their freshman year of college sports is,
The work you did in high school got you here but this is a new journey. You will need to find new ways to train, rest, and recover in order to continue to get better!"
We can't wait to see what's in store for Jersey at Arkansas this year! We know the hard work she's put in this summer and throughout her career will set her up to be a leader on her team and threat on the court.
