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About
Courtney |
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Courtney Shaley Crooms was born on January 9th, 1992 to Derick
and Meshal Crooms in Killeen, Texas. Born into a military
family, Courtney, along with her older brother Daniel, traveled
quite a bit early on, settling in places from Germany to the
Washington D.C. area. Always one of the tallest in her class,
Courtney became very active in athletics at an early age. She
excelled in volleyball, track & field, and her passion...
basketball.
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As part of a family that stressed the importance of academics
and overall well-roundedness, Courtney excelled in the classroom
as well, achieving a 3.5 cumulative GPA throughout her entire
middle school career, and would have attended the Southwest
Atlanta Christian Academy (SACA) as a student, and member of
their lady's basketball team. |
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Perhaps most importantly, and at a young age, Courtney
understood the significance of her athletic gifting and talents,
and viewed them as gifts from God. She relished every
opportunity to compete, and did so admirably. |
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On June 25th, 2006 on their way back from North Augusta, South
Carolina, and less than two hours after she and her AAU team,
the (14U) Atlanta Lady Celtics, had just won the championship in
their age group at the Garden City Classic Tournament, Courtney
and her mother, Meshal, were involved in a
fatal
automobile accident 80 miles east of Atlanta. Meshal
would survive the accident, sustaining serious injuries from the
crash including :(five hematomas to the head; right shoulder
fracture; right arm, ribs and hand injury; three pelvic
fractures; four lower back fractures; bladder injury; dislocated
left hip and leg injury, and both knees crushed.) Courtney, however was gone...gone at the age of 14! |
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The family has founded this organization to honor Courtney's
memory, legacy, and life, as well as to challenge, and encourage
female student-athletes to strive for excellence in every area
of their life. Courtney's motto was to live life with passion
and purpose, and to play each game, as if it was her last! |
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As a 14-yr old, Courtney stood nearly 5'11", wore a size 12 1/2
(women) shoe, and played the "3", "4", and "5" positions. She
often slept with her teddy bear (Smokey) on one side, and her
basketball on the other. She had aspirations of competing in the
WNBA... by way of her beloved Duke Lady Blue Devils! |
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Courtney often asked her dad, "Why do the men make so much
'more' money than the women in professional basketball?" She
never accepted any answer he gave, and vowed that one day she
would "change-the-game!" Because of her vision and desire,
through her Foundation..."SHE WILL!" |
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