Ameesah Cotten is looking for a change of scenery.

And she plans to go to New England to find it as Cotten, a key member of the Newburgh Free Academy girls’ basketball team will attend Colby-Sawyer College, where she will study public health.

“Colby-Sawyer neighbors Mount Kearsarge, resulting in a great view,” Cotten said. “Also, the public health program is very successful.”

Colby-Sawyer’s public health program prepares students to help individuals and communities live safe and productive lives through disease prevention, wellness promotion and emergency preparedness.

“I’m looking forward to beginning the hands-on work relating to my major and developing new friendships,” Cotten said.

Newburgh girls’ basketball coach Arturo Santana has known Cotten since she was in kindergarten and was one of her teachers through fifth grade and then the last several years in the high school basketball program.

She’s going to focus on her major at Colby-Sawyer, but she told Santana she plans to play on the women’s basketball team as well. Even before high school games, her focus on academics was clear.

She is part of NFA’s P-tech program, which aims to have students career ready by the time they graduate. She has her high school diploma, as well as a two-year degree, all of which she accomplished in four years.

“She’s going to do a great job because she’s focused,” Santana said. “Before the games, she would be studying in the corner doing her homework while everyone’s hanging around. That’s very difficult for a kid her age to be that focused and so concentrated on her academics.”

On the court, she was the glue that held the Goldbacks together. She wasn’t a strong force in the scorebook, but she helped the team in ways that don’t show up in the scorebook, averaging 11 rebounds per game.

“All the girls respected her,” Santana said. “There was not one negative thing the other girls could say about Ameesah. When you needed something done, Ameesah would take care of it.”

Santana often took advantage of her maturity as when he and assistant coach Bruce Chapin wanted to implement something and gauge how the team would react, they would take Cotten aside and discuss it with her.

“When you think about it, I’m bouncing ideas with a kid,” Santana said. “That’s the type of girl she is. She’s a well-rounded young lady that is very mature for her age.”
Even when things were bad, she was there for her teammates. For instance, Cotten missed most of her junior year with a torn ACL and she still attended practices and games and was a positive force.

“Her teammates love her as a person,” Santana said. “Whenever she was around, our chemistry was a lot different because Ameesah was the kind of girl who would sit and listen and when she needed to say something, she would.”

Cotten’s favorite time, however, were the bus rides to and from games and the interval between the JV and varsity games.

“There was always good energy walking into our home gym or an opponent’s gym after a pep talk or quick game review,” she said. “I always felt like I was on top of the world. I’d usually be extremely quiet during these times, just taking everything in and embracing the moment. My team was full off girls who knew how to have a good time. We all love a good laugh.”