2022-23 Tony Curnutte Memorial Female Sportsman of the Year: Commitment to excellence: Miss Basketball, softball star Ford leaves legacy of devotion, character
Aug. 4—The road to greatness can take many twists and turns.
Haven Ford wasn't going to let a journey of 180 miles stand in her way of experiencing the day's second dream come true.
Rowan County reached the state softball semifinals on June 9, Ford's furthest postseason trip in her storied sports career, at John Cropp Field in Lexington. Each day on the University of Kentucky diamond the Vikings were experiencing history and Ford was determined not to miss a single pitch.
Waiting for her in the western part of the state was the No. 1 jersey, a uniform coveted for the 2023 Miss Basketball winner, at the Owensboro Sportscenter. The Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game holds a special place in bluegrass basketball history and the feeling is mutual for the players who compete in it.
Ford's devotion to her teammates and the sport of softball didn't give her a second thought about where she wanted to be that Friday morning.
Rowan County fell to eventually state champion Ballard. Ford would have rather played in the championship game the next afternoon but the outcome gave her a window to be present for another group of teammates.
"Some people may have been wondering how I was going to deal with the commitment aspect of it with the All-Star Game," Ford said. "I was 100% committed with softball. I wanted to be with those girls. We had accomplished something unbelievable after winning the region tournament. After the season we had, I knew I could not have left at the most important time. I tried to enjoy every moment I could with them."
"It was a blessing everybody stayed healthy," she added. "We played 40 games with the same lineup. and the more we kept winning along with all the goals that we met, it was something special. I know that I have never felt that before."
Ford got a quick nap during the drive to Owensboro. The guard seemed refreshed and the Indiana All-Stars looked like they were playing in slow motion trying to defend the quick and savvy Ford.
She replaced one uniform with another, each bearing its own significance on her eventful. Ford arrived before tip-off and again, led her team to victory. She produced another clean stat sheet with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. She added five steals.
Ford's commitment to excellence is only rivaled by her commitment to her teammates. The vast list of her accolades remains widely respected on and off her playing field of choice.
"Her commitment level is off the charts," Rowan County boys basketball coach Shawn Thacker said. "She is always in the gym. She's always committed to being the best that she can be whether it's in the weight room, whether it's getting her shots up or getting her workouts in. The perfect example was in the state semifinals with softball and then jetting to Owensboro to play in the All-Star Game and represent Miss Basketball. It's highly important to her."
A 'Premier' talent
For all that Ford has accomplished on the basketball court, it was softball that garnered the most interest at a very young age.
She played in a rec league at 5 years old and competed on an 8U travel team. Ford loved both sports and knew that she wanted to play at least one at the college level as he moved up the ranks to 12U.
It wasn't until she gravitated toward AAU basketball that she found her calling.
"In eighth grade, I had the opportunity to play for Kentucky Premier," Ford said. "It brought so many opportunities for me and that's kind of when I made the decision that basketball would be the sport that I wanted to pursue more than softball for college. When I decided it was something I wanted to do, I had to put in more work so I could get in the best shape to match the intensity and the level of basketball that was being played across the country."
"I had to get faster and stronger," she continued. "I was good at the state level, but once you start competing against girls across the country, it's a different level. I saw my game grow and having that drive helped me raise the interest of college coaches."
Ford also referenced that while other kids were watching cartoons, she watching sporting events and ESPN. Sports were prevalent in her household. Her parents, Raven and Kelly, both played sports in high school and coached at Rowan County. Kelly is the current football coach.
Ford tuned into several different sports and studied the mannerisms of players and their coaches' game plans. She would advise any young athlete to play multiple sports. Ford also played soccer in her freshman and sophomore years.
"When you play multiple sports, it helps you work and develop different skills," Ford said, "and they teach you different lessons. You make so many friendships through sports. With softball, I had opportunities that I wasn't able to get with basketball and vice versa. When we won a region in softball, it was even more exciting for me because I'd never been to the state tournament or a final four. It's something I never came close to with basketball. I'll tell any young athlete that they need to play as many sports as they can, especially if you can find enjoyment playing them."
It was during her middle school years that she caught the eye of her future basketball coach. Matt Stokes was a Rowan County assistant before taking the head job before her eighth grade season.
When she started working out and practicing with the varsity team as a seventh grader, Stokes could quickly see her promise and comfort level competing with the upperclassmen.
"I had always heard people talk about how good she was at a young age," Stokes said. "When coach (Ed) Jones had her come up and play with us at the high school, you just saw a completely different kid. I said, OK, she is pretty good. She performed well with the juniors and seniors. You knew something special was there. It's the way she carried herself when she played."
The ultimate competitor
Ford was already the school's all-time leading scorer heading into her senior season. She finished with 3,296 points, putting her 12th on the state list. The guard holds a 19.6 career scoring average and grabbed 12 rebounds a game during her senior year at 5-foot-6.
Ford guided Rowan County to consecutive Kentucky 2A state final appearances the last two seasons.
Her tenacity and determination are unquestioned. Stokes said she is always the first one to hold herself accountable.
"A coach expects certain things out of each of their kids," Stokes said. "Haven was not usually someone that I had to talk to about that. She held herself to a higher standard. She was worried about making her teammates better. Even when we came off a game where she'd scored 28 points, if we lost, she was still very upset because she felt that she could have gotten more people involved. You don't see kids think that at that age."
When Thacker went looking for players to assist in his team's workouts, he didn't have to look far. He already had a superstar on campus and Ford brought her teammates with her. Even college recruiters would take in the games.
"We had a lot of members of the girls team play," Thacker said. "The girls team was unfortunate last year with injuries. All the girls come in and lifted and worked out with us during the summer. I opened my gym up and it was great that they could be a part of it. I told a college scout watching that she might not shoot as good with the boy's ball but she's a better shooter than anybody we got."
Ford said it's the product of her competitive nature. The current Miss Basketball wants to win at all costs no matter if she's playing basketball or checkers. She claims that she will always be her biggest critic.
Ford wants to be more consistent in shooting the ball before settling in at the next level. Her speed and her roundball I.Q. will be powerful assets at Murray State.
"I will do anything the team needs to win," Ford said. "You're not gonna win every time you play but when you don't, it can teach you even more. You realize what you need to work on. Even when I have a great game, I'm still stuck on things that I've done wrong. It goes into my competitiveness. I just want to win with everything that I do."
A State of bliss
Ford's talents never graced the hardwood at Rupp Arena but the senior would not let that deter her motivations on the softball field.
The Vikings posted a school record 35 wins and made just their third trip to the state tournament in June. Ford batted .609 this year along with 19 home runs and 36 extra-base hits. She lead the state in RBIs with 84 and she had a perfect record in stolen base attempts (48 for 48).
Ford was named The Daily Independent's softball All-Area Player of the Year.
"Every day I get to look back since I am done with high school sports," Ford said. "I look at the pictures and the memories. I have cherished every moment this year. It has just been so unbelievable. I would never trade it for anything. Sometimes I think about and wish I could go back and relive the emotions of that moment in time. It's been an amazing year for me and I wouldn't ask for a better way to end my high school career."
Rowan County softball coach Larry Slone relished his time watching Ford play. The shortstop's anticipation and knowledge of her opponent and the game put her in the right position to make a play.
Slone announced his retirement last month from the dugout after a long and distinguished career. Ford's dedication to the softball program and her willingness to put her basketball aspirations aside for her team will be something he won't soon forget.
"If you get to see her every day, and watch her leadership ability and her playmaking," Slone said, "she helps every kid on your team play at a higher level. She'll always bring that to the table no matter where she plays or what level she plays at. Everybody around her has to play at a higher level."
"I appreciate her as a person," he added, "because I knew that every day she would come in and give everything she had. She was not worried about injury or continuing her basketball career. He gave everything she had to win a softball game."
Character building
When others say that Ford leads by example, basketball is usually secondary on the list. The recent Rowan County graduate puts character above all else.
The impact and the legacy that she leaves behind can't and won't be defined by a basket or a home run. The coaches, the teaching staff and the community of Morehead have experienced her integrity first-hand and will remember what's on the inside.
Stokes said Ford always took advantage of the opportunity to brighten the day of a young player, a teammate or a fan of her game. She made the most of her time at Rowan County and every basketball stop along the way. Ford often helped out with basketball camps or with whatever anyone asked her to do.
"She had such a huge impact on this growing our program," Stokes said. "It's now something where more girls and boys are interested in playing basketball. You can go to the classrooms and talk to the teachers. As a coach, you're most proud when teachers are always giving glowing remarks about how great of a student she is or how well-mannered she is. ... She stays humble and that's had a lasting impact on our kids. They see the way she carries herself. It can prepare them for life outside of sports."
"When you're voted the homecoming queen by the students and Miss Rowan County by the teachers," Thacker added, "it's because of how well she treats others. It would be easy for her to have a different kind of attitude but she is always gracious and always caring. You could see it in how she nurtured those young girls during softball to the final four."
Ford accepts her role model status proudly and it's a job that she doesn't take lightly. It's OK to dream big, but it will never happen if you don't put in the work first.
"I embrace being a role model," Ford said. "I'm always here for the young girls in Morehead. I want to be someone they can look up to. I was once in their shoes. I set goals for myself and I want to tell them anything is achievable if you put the work into it and trust yourself."
Past Tony Curnutte Sportsmen of the Year
Year Honoree
2022-23 (female) Haven Ford (Rowan County)
2022-23 (male) Carson Wireman (Greenup County)
2021-22 (male) JB Terrill (Boyd County)
2021-22 (female) Sophia Newsome (Boyd County)
2020-21 Athletes, coaches and administrators
of the COVID-19 era
2019-20 (male) Jason Mays (Ashland)
2019-20 (female) Olivia Hensley (Boyd County)
2018-19 (male) Noah West (Lawrence County)
2018-19 (female) Savannah Wheeler (Boyd County)
2017-18 (male) Blake Gamble (Johnson Central)
2017-18 (female) Montana Fouts (East Carter)
2016-17 (male) Geordon Blanton (Johnson Central)
2016-17 (female) Sara Hieneman (Russell)
2015-16 (male) Braden Brown (West Carter)
2015-16 (female) Destiny Goins (Boyd County)
2014-15 (male) Connor Messer (Raceland)
2014-15 (female) Megan Hensley (Ashland)
2013-14 Taylor Wheeler (Boyd County)
2012-13 Logan Salow (Ashland)
2011-12 J.J. Jude (Johnson Central)
2010-11 Chandler Shepherd (Lawrence County)
2009-10 Stephen Metcalf (Ashland)
2008-09 Tyler Boyles (Raceland)
2007-08 Randy Keeton (Lawrence County)
2006-07 Jeremy Sheffey (Boyd County)
2005-06 Julie Ditty (Russell)
2004-05 Ivan McGlone (Russell)
2003-04 Brandon Webb (Ashland)
2002-03 Megen Gearhart (West Carter)
2001-02 Arliss Beach (Ashland)
2000-01 John "Hop" Brown (West Carter)
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