Fennell family leaves generational impact

SMHS GIRLS BASKETBALL

Sports have a unique ability to strengthen the bond between people, especially in families.

For the Fennell family, the sport of basketball has helped connect three generations of Lady Rattler basketball players through both the highs and the lows.

“We’ve been able to become different people or versions of ourselves, through the game,” Tasha Fennell said. ”Basketball’s not life, but it’s a way of life to create new spaces and opportunities. For me, being a part of a program and being a coach at a school that I played at as an alumni, it made a really big difference in who I was becoming as I grew up with my coaches and my teammates, knowing my mom was a good basketball player and playing to her standards and expectations.

“Then also getting the opportunity at one point to play with my sister and now being able to coach my daughter at our alumni. It really just provides space for God to work and show up for us. I love basketball. I love San Marcos. I love San Marcos High School, and I love the opportunity created for us.”

Carol Fennell, Tasha Fennell and Azariah Fennell have all made their mark on the Lady Rattler basketball program whether leading the team to new heights or rewriting the record book and earning numerous accolades.

Seeing what both her daughter and granddaughter have achieved, Carol Fennell is nothing but overjoyed.

“It makes me feel very proud of what they accomplished,” Carol Fennell said. “They’re using basketball as a stepping stone to stay focused on going through life itself. So I’m very proud of them. My daughter Labreca played with [Tasha] so we all played. We go home and critique their game and we talk about basketball. Basketball brought us closer to each other and I’m just amazed at how much they accomplish.”

Hearing the stories about what both her grandmother and mother accomplished at San Marcos, Azariah Fennell feels inspired to play on the very same team where both made their names for themselves.

“It’s an inspiration to not only live it and know that they’ve done it but actually hear from a different side of someone who’s been there, been in my shoes and played here at San Marcos High School having gone through things that I have gone through,” Azariah Fennell said. “So it’s definitely big for me to see them and know that they went through everything I went through and they were putting me in the best place for success. I just want to do everything that I can to make both of them proud.”

Carol Fennell helped lead the Lady Rattlers to their first-ever district championship during the 1980-1981, finishing the season with a 23-5 overall record, the best in school history at that point until the Lady Rattlers state championship run in 1991-1992.

“Each one of us was a teammate,” Carol Fennell said. “We looked out for each other on and off the court. Even when we were playing, we were always looking for that open person. We always worked because Coach [Donny[ McDonald wouldn’t have it any other way. If we had a problem, our problem was running it out on the court. He didn’t put up with anything. So we just enjoyed ourselves and we were hyped up.”

As Tasha Fennell came up through high school, she was faced with the challenge any young basketball player faces being the child of a locally famous athlete.

“At the beginning, it was intimidating because it was ‘Can I live up to what she did,’” Tasha Fennell said. “Because when we competed against Hays, Coach MacDonald would always come speak to me and tell me how great my mom was. Of course, I wanted to make my mom proud, but knowing that other people from the outside were looking at me as Carol [Fennell]’s daughter.”

With the help of her mom and learning from her, Tasha Fennell became one of the best post players in the program history, including one game against Seguin where she scored 38 points and gathered 22 rebounds in a win.

“At that point, it was like coming to my mom and trusting that she’s always telling me what’s best,” Fennell said. “Having my mom there, she was really hard on me but she had high expectations, because she knew what we were capable of individually as her child, but also as a program. She was an active participant in our program and systems so that really helped.”

From there, Tasha Fennell became more than just the daughter of a locally famous basketball player but, most importantly, became the best version of herself.

“I was lucky and blessed that my grandma, my mom, my uncles, my dad played basketball and they’re also San Marcos locals, so we’re just known for the game,” Tasha Fennell said. “For any player, when your parents have such a big impact on a program, a lot of kids have a lot of struggles living up to their expectations. … I was able to separate myself from being only Carol [Fennell’s] daughter to being Carol [Fennell’s] daughter and Tasha Fennell by introducing myself who I was, what I stand for, what I do, what I like and who I want to be.”

Having started on varsity since her freshman year, it was now Azariah Fennell’s turn to establish her legacy within both her family and the program itself.

Being thrown into the fires of varsity basketball straight out of middle school, Azariah Fennell learned the challenges of playing the game in her freshman year.

“That one was definitely a rough one,” Azariah Fennell said. “We were 14-16, so that was really hard, especially being a freshman that started coming straight off of volleyball and then going just straight into basketball. It was definitely like an adjustment for me as a player, just knowing the game of high school basketball because I was just still used to middle school basketball.”

Azariah Fennell then helped the Lady Rattlers get back into the playoffs during her sophomore season where they fell to defending state champ San Antonio Clark in the first round. Despite the loss, the foundation for future success was set.

“Whenever we made it to the playoffs and we played Clark in the first round, it was an interesting bit,” Azariah Fennell said. “But we had finally realized that we can make it to the playoffs. Like, if we can make it to the playoffs minus playing San Antonio Clark in the first round, if we can make it, we can continue to keep doing it.”

But Azariah Fennell’s sophomore year was not without challenges when she suffered a severe concussion that put her out of action for several weeks. During her rehab, Azariah got closer to both her mother and grandmother, which allowed the younger Fennell to improve her game.

“I realized in that moment that I would need both of them if I really wanted to achieve what they did and all the things and be team players just like they were,” Fennell said. “So I definitely got closer with them. … I always know that they’re going to put me in the best place [to succeed] or tell me whatever I need to hear even if I don’t want to hear it at the moment.

“They’re going to tell me what I need to hear and I’m going to use it no matter what, in my game, on the court, off the court, in the classroom, no matter where I am. I know that they’ll always be my court to support me.”

During Azariah Fennell’s junior year, the Lady Rattlers advanced to the playoffs once more where the team won their first playoff game in over a decade. From there, the Lady Rattlers went on a magical playoff run where San Marcos qualified for the regional finals for the first time since 1992 and just the second time in program history.

As she looks to help lead the Lady Rattlers to another deep playoff run and potentially the program’s first district championship in over a decade, Azariah Fennell continues to work on being the best version of herself with the help of her two role models.

“It’s definitely their strengths that I’d say carries me because those are the two strongest women I’ve ever met in my life,” Azariah Fennell said. “I strive to have their strength in any way, shape or form. I try to have that because I know that they’re both beasts in everything that they do whether it’s being a mother, being a grandmother, or being a teacher, being a friend. They’re going to show up in support and however form that they can. That’s just the type of person I want to be for whoever I can.”

Now a teacher and coach at San Marcos High School, Tasha Fennell is thankful for what Azariah has brought to her life.

“I thank God every day that He chose [Azariah] for me,” Tasha Fennell said. “Playing basketball in college was a goal for me. I did it and having Azariah brought me back home so my career ended in college. I used to be upset about it, but now I realized that God’s plans were better because I’m able to set Azariah up for better opportunities because I chose love, which is why we named her Azariah Love. I chose love for her to prove to her that obstacles and things will happen, but it doesn’t apply in who you are and where you go.”

As she looks on from the successes both Tasha and Azariah have had, Carol Fennell is delighted with what her daughter and granddaughter have achieved.

“I’m very proud of both of them,” Carol Fennell said. “I’m so proud that [Tasha] uses her voice whenever she needs to, and she doesn’t hold anything back as I do. She’s always there for her family. As we call her, the historian, she has pictures of everything and everybody.

“Azariah is growing up realizing that this is her last year, and she needs to step it up, knowing that she’s going to be out there on her own when she goes away into whatever college she chooses. She has to know to be a voice of her own. She still lacks that voice of her own, but I’m hoping eventually she’ll find it. I’m still so proud of both of them and the expectation is tremendous.”