SIOUX CITY | Emily Kay won't hear of the excuses. Too tired? Too busy? Too intimidated? Too old?
When it comes to getting up off the couch and into an active swing, the diminutive Briar Cliff University Charger basketball player only knows one way: Encouragement.
She probably comes by it honestly. Her grandmother, Mary "Peg" Kay, of Wilmot, S.D., turned 97 in July. She celebrated by breaking a world record for the 100-meter dash for those in the 95- to 99-year-old age bracket at the National Senior Olympic Games.
"Grandma also did the 50-meter dash and threw the shot put and the discus," Emily Kay says. "Grandma walks every day."
It leads Kay to say, "You shouldn't have an excuse. Everyone can workout."
Kay, a kinesiology and human performance major who will graduate in May, played basketball and volleyball and participated in track and cross country during her prep playing days in Warner. She also sang alto in the choir and played trumpet in the band.
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Following a two-year regimen of academics and basketball at Briar Cliff, the daughter of Donneley and LaRita Kay joined the Chargers program. She didn't play an overload of minutes as a junior. Patience, though, was a virtue as she logged her most important time on the court in the 2015 national tournament, where Coach Mike Power's team, one of the last chosen for the 32-team field, upset a pair of ranked foes, including undefeated Davenport University, to crash the Final Four party.
Kay was a key contributor. She remains one this year, no matter how much she's on the court.
"I'm a role player," she says. "My job is to get the team motivated and to work hard in practice. When I play, my job is to shoot over a zone or be a ball-handler in a press situation."
The Chargers closed the first semester with a No. 4 national ranking.
Though she's not racing up and down the court repeatedly every Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon in Great Plains Athletic Conference contests, Kay stays ready by lifting twice during each week and once on Sunday.
She lifts weights Monday through Thursday during the off-season and then runs and shoots baskets on her own.
"During high school, I'd go to the gym nearly every night and sometimes I'd stay there until 11 p.m. or 12:30 a.m., shooting as my dad rebounded," she says. "For me, it was a stress reliever. It's fun to get in a gym and get lost in your thoughts, just you and the ball."
Her dedication continues at the collegiate level. Following an early-season loss at Northwestern College, Kay stepped off the bus and into the Newman-Flanagan Center at BCU. She shot baskets that night until late, working off the frustration of shooting an air ball in the Chargers' loss that night at NWC.
Beyond the shooting touch, Kay has learned to monitor her diet closely. It's a delicate balance between gaining and losing weight during a season, one she achieves by consuming the appropriate amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and calories in what amounts to three square meals and three big snacks per day.
Kay has been fascinated with her work alongside Dr. Andrew Shim, of Briar Cliff in the kinesiolgy department. The university has added a "Bod Pod" to measure muscle mass, weight and body-fat percentage among athletes.
Red flags may go up during a season if a player's body fat percentage drops below a certain level.
These are the kinds of lessons for one's physical and mental well-being that Kay may carry on in her future work or education. She strives to help others through service and by aiding them in tapping their potential.
"I may try to get my master's degree, or I may work first," she says. "I liked my work in outpatient rehab; I also liked the fast pace of the hospital. And, I like working both with kids and seniors in a nursing home, as both sets are thankful to be helped."
She also learned much in an internship with Shim, aiding in his work with non-pedal bicycles fit for those with autism.
Has she any advice for members of the general public, those who don't shoot threes and weave through press schemes in gyms across the Great Plains Athletic Conference?
"Do not be intimidated," she says, her way of keeping it simple. "Don't work your hardest early on the process. Start slow and build up your confidence."
Kay advises folks to head to a local gym and circulate. Some of the most helpful and positive people in our community can be found working out, trying to make themselves -- and others -- the best they can be.
"Working out helps with stress, mentally and emotionally," the Charger senior says, just minutes before a lifting session. "It can help in disease prevention and it can boost your immune system, all which help you in the future."
