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True leader: LeClaire recognized for more than sports

DOLLAR BAY — Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Blue Bolts boys basketball senior Brendan LeClaire was recently awarded a one-thousand dollar scholarship for the college of his choosing by the Michigan High School Association (MHSAA).

LeClaire was one of the two students selected for the statewide scholarship. He found out about it after seeing previous Lake Linden-Hubbell student athlete Laura Lyons granted the scholarship in 2018.

“I remember seeing the scholarship winners last year when we went down to Breeland,” said LeClaire. “Their faces were on the big screen. I realized that I probably should give that scholarship a try when I became a senior this year.”

LeClaire did his “homework” and discovered that he might be a great fit.

“The scholarship requirements, and what it was asking (for), I just felt like it fit me with basketball, my academics and showing leadership (by) being a team captain for three years,” he said. “Basketball was a big part of that scholarship (and it) showed me the leadership skills that I have.

“To (say) that small schools around here have the talents, we have the academics and the sports that can be recognized throughout the state. It was a statewide scholarship, so all through Class D, only two guys won it. It just shows how the people are up here. I know Laura Lyons won it last year for the girls. This area definitely has some great student athletes.”

A three-year player for coach Jesse Kentala, LeClaire has been a big part of the Blue Bolts success the last two seasons.

“I’m a senior and I’ve been playing varsity for three years,” he said. “The team aspect of (the game) and the friends that I’ve made throughout the process. Many of the guys on my team are my closest friends. Spending all that time with them (has) really helped me grow closer with them (making) memories with them playing basketball.”

With LeClaire’s final season on the Blue Bolts’ basketball court nearing its end, he would like to be remembered for the hard work he put in and the example he set for his younger teammates as team captain.

“I want to be remembered (as) the hardest-working guy in the gym, day in and day out and (for) leaving it all out on the floor, not regretting anything, knowing I (tried) my hardest and showing how it would pay off with my records and the team I was on,” he said.

“Being a third-year captain this year, (I) just have to show the younger guys the ropes and what to do and that’s definitely been a difficult part but it’s something that I’ve been learning and adjusting to.”

It hasn’t always been easy for LeClaire, who was asked to step up his sophomore year to help lead a relatively young team. He has learned a lot since then and has learned to adapt each year.

“Just learning how to do the little things (and) knowing that not everyone’s the same,” said LeClaire when asked what he had to learn. “(Developing) leadership skills (and) knowing how to collaborate and come up with the best solutions if you’re planning for a game (was important).”

LeClaire is the first to admit that stepping into a key role as a sophomore was harder than he expected it to be.

“I became a starter my sophomore year,” he said. “That year was difficult. We had a grind. It was a very good year all around for the teams. I had to push hard (and eventually) became a captain on that team, so that challenged me and gave me chances to learn how to be a captain.”

LeClaire became a driving force by adapting to the defensive side of the floor in the 2017-18 season after the Blue Bolts found success the season prior.

“Junior year, I became a captain again and we had to push,” said LeClaire. “We had the same team, so we had to work just as hard or even harder to prove ourselves. That (allowed us to make) our Breeland run.”

Learning to step in and be a defender while others did the bulk of the scoring was not something that LeClaire expected to do, but he learned how to add the defensive game to his repertoire.

“I didn’t need to score the ball as much so I became a defender (and) found a role where I could hit and help the team as much as I could,” LeClaire said. “That’s what I try to do. We had a million scorers, we don’t need another one, so I found how I could best help the team (on the other end) and did that to the best of my ability.”

The final months of high school can be both scary and exciting. LeClaire has decided to stick close to home after his recent acceptance to Michigan Tech where he would like to major in general engineering and play football for the Huskies.

“I’m going to (Michigan) Tech,” said LeClaire, “and I’m going to be playing football there. Right now, my major is general engineering. It’s definitely nice to (give) something back to the community.”

Going to school close to home was something that LeClaire always hoped he would be able to do.

“I kind of knew I was going to Tech,” he said. “It was just the right fit. I knew I wanted to be an engineer, it just helps out that (they have) football there. It’s a great place for me. It all kind of (happened) fast so it’s still settling in.”

Kentala is extremely proud to have been a part of helping LeClaire grow into the player and, more importantly, the man he is today.

“He deserves it,” Kentala said. “He’s such a good kid and does so many good things. He’s our leader and our captain and is so unselfish. For him to be rewarded for the little things, not always (about) who scores the points (or) who gets the glory but who does things the right way.

“It was nice to see a kid get rewarded for being a good dude.”

For Kentala, LeClaire is an seemingly irreplaceable leader with a team-first mentality.

“This year, he came in with the mindset that he would need to score to be effective,” Kentala said. “Brendan he’s capable of scoring. His role hasn’t changed a whole lot this year. He’s still our defensive leader. He still leads our team is rebounds.

“He cares about winning (and) the team first, he cares about being a good leader. I don’t want to say anybody’s irreplaceable but if I were to use that term, Brendan would be the first to come to mind.”

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