Amber Bland's life will get pretty "tough" in two years.

Amber Bland's life will get pretty "tough" in two years.
The Boardman sophomore will have to decide whether she wants to go to college on a track scholarship or a basketball scholarship. Then she'll have to pick the college.
And, of course, she'll have to find space for all her awards.
The Spartan standout was named Division I girls basketball player of the year, sharing the honor with two other sophomores, after helping Boardman to a 21-2 record that ended with a district final loss to eventual state champion North Canton Hoover.
"I was pretty excited," Bland said of the honor. "But it was kind of weird. I didn't want to say anything. But I want to go further with it and go higher.
"I'm not done yet."
Problem is, Bland is running out of individual goals. She led the Steel Valley Conference in scoring, made first team all-SVC and was the district player of the year. She also won the Div. I high jump title last year as a freshman.
Looking ahead: "My dad said 'Now we're going to have to look for a new goal for you,'" Bland said. "My main goal is to get a ring."
She'll have to do it without Spartan senior Ashlee Russo, who's headed to YSU after a stellar career.
"We're just going to have to pull together," Bland said. "I'm going to try to take more of a leadership role. We'll support each other, and we'll pick each other up down the line."
She'll also have fan support. Ryan Beck, Tom Haynes, Ameet Patel, Bill Sosnosky and John Crogan had five different T-shirts printed with the name of each starter and Boardman fans always turn out in strong numbers.
Boardman girls basketball coach Ron Moschella considered retiring this off-season but is staying put for now.
"Ron's been here for 22 years, and he's retired 22 times," Boardman athletic director Jim Fox said. "Nobody takes him seriously."
Bland had to be talked into going out for track this year -- her first love is basketball -- and, like last year, will attend basketball camps in the summer.
"Hopefully it won't be as many as last year," she said with a laugh. "The Adidas Camp in Georgia will be a real challenge. It will be fun meeting new people and improving my skills."
Eyes improvement: She'll also work on her outside shot. She hit 53.7 from the field this season but shot just 20 percent from the 3-point line.
"I'm not real comfortable with my outside shot during games," she said. "And I need to work on my ball handling."
Bland had 54 turnovers to 35 assists this year but has few weaknesses left.
She scored 25.7 points per game, grabbed 7.7 rebounds, averaged 2.5 steals per game and finished in the top-10 in the SVC in six categories.
By the end of her career, she could be one of the most celebrated athletes in Boardman history.
Yes, life is tough.