Hamilton, ON- When Jenna Button walked towards the bench near the end of her seniors night game, she broke down.

The McMaster Marauders guard had just set a new career-best with 31 points in an 82-40 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Feb. 17.

Button was caught up in the game. However, once she subbed off for the final time with under two minutes remaining, the emotions hit her.

Okay. This is it I guess, she thought. It’s actually coming to an end and this chapter is kind of closing. The realization of this potentially being her final regular season game started to sink in. It still hasn’t fully.

Button realized it more and more as she heard Marauders head coach Theresa Burns give a speech about her to the crowd at the Burridge Gym. As she took pictures with her parents Chris and Christine and her teammates on the court afterwards. As she watched the video her teammates put together for her in the locker room. As she read the letters they wrote for her.

She found herself laughing and reminiscing about all those memories she had over the past five years as she watched the video. The memories she wouldn’t trade for anything.

“I feel really loved right now,” Jenna said. “It’s a really nice feeling.”

We’re possibly near the end of Jenna’s journey at McMaster. Do you know the beginning though? Do you know everything that led to the emotions of that moment?

Do you know how hard working and coachable she was since she started playing basketball at three years old – playing on Fisher Price nets on a team called Bucket Busters? Christine does.

You would tell Jenna to do something and she would keep working at it until she got it right.

 “How did you make her like this,” Jenna’s grade six teacher once asked Christine.

“What do you mean,” Christine asked back. “Make her like what.”

“So determined,” the teacher said. “So focused.”

“She was born that way,” Christine responded. “It’s just how she is.”

Christine and Chris would see that determination from an early age. Jenna would come home from school and finish her homework in the two-to-three hours before practice. Her parents would never have to worry about her getting her schoolwork done.

Why is she so determined? Jenna just liked to be busy. She wanted to be the best she could be at everything she did. Her parents pushed her as a basketball player, especially Chris as her coach.

They wouldn’t push her to be the best though. Instead, they pushed her to enjoy what she does. When she found that enjoyment, it pushed her to be better than the day before.

Do you know what she was like when she came into the McMaster program from Dundas Valley Secondary School back in 2019? Do you know how much she admired the program? “A dream come true for her,” Christine said.

She played in tournaments at the Burridge Gym. She would come to watch the team play. Now she was one of them.

When former teammate and current assistant coach Mia Spadafora first saw her, Spadafora knew she meant business. She saw her focus and her composure in games and practices. A composure that’s built up over time as well.

Jenna is so attentive, listening to her coaches and teammates. When she does so, it’s easy for her to be so composed, Spadafora points out.

Do you remember how she stepped into the Marauders rotation as a rookie in 2019-20? How the 2020-21 season was cancelled. How when play resume in 2021-22, things changed.  

Jenna struggled mentally. She would put pressure on herself to perform. She thought about it. She dreaded coming to practice sometimes because she was so focused on how she was playing.

Heading into her fourth year, she knew she could play much better. More importantly, she knew how to do so. That meant focusing on the present, not thinking about the past.

That meant being okay with not performing at her best every night and not letting that affect the next play or game. That meant growing a next play mentality and playing freely.

She heard her teammates, who would always build up her confidence. “Don’t worry about,” they’ll tell her. “Keep shooting.”

She talked with her parents, who would tell her: “It’s just a game. Next game’s coming.” That’s how life goes, Christine saw her daughter realize.

“It’s not always your fault,” she would tell her. “There’s nothing you could have done to save that game. You’re part of a team. It’s not just you.”

Now, when she meets up with them after games…

“I’m not afraid to see her after games anymore because…I know she’s not going to be down on herself,” Christine said. Jenna has that maturity now.

Spadafora saw her take that leap in fourth year. She saw her take on the role of being the scorer and go-to player – even amongst the seniors on the team.

“I fit in. I’m meant to be here,” Spadafora described it. “Whatever you need of me. I will do.” She would take on that extra pass, steal or game winning shot – and do so with composure and relentless effort.

Spadafora saw what she went through in her second and third season. So, when her fourth season started, she saw the same Jenna she saw back in 2019 – but times two. She was more self-confident to handle whatever came her way. As the two of them talked, Spadafora told Jenna about the confidence she had in her.

She saw Jenna’s self-awareness. She knew what was happening. She knew when she made a mistake. “Okay, now ground yourself and translate that onto the court,” Spadafora told her.

Jenna’s doing so every day this season. Spadafora knows how hard that can be. She’s proud of her for that.

“It’s easy to show up for your teammates but it’s not easy to show up for yourself,” Spadafora noted. “And she’s been doing that.”

Jenna’s determination and drive remains today. Do you see all the time she puts into not only her basketball career and academics but everything else?

The morning after her seniors night, she was at St. Catharines for the OUA Swimming Championships – where she’s a volunteer student field therapist for the McMaster men’s and women’s swim teams. She could have stayed up later the previous night to celebrate the occasion…

“Why don’t you tell them this is your senior’s night,” Christine asked her.

“No. I can’t,” Jenna replied. “I can’t let them down.” She couldn’t make it to the previous race days – due to her basketball commitments – so she had to be there on Sunday.

Do you see the confidence she passes on to younger girls from all the hours she helps with McMaster Sports Fitness School camps and with coaching the Dundas Valley team and STAC basketball?

She’s so dedicated to getting young girls into sports – and to help them stick through it, Spadafora points out. “Without that confidence that’s instilled in them, it’s easy for them to fall off the ledge a little bit,” she added. “She’s really taken the time to be that person for them.”

Jenna does so with a certain aura so when she talks…

“I’m going to listen to every word you say and I’m going to believe every word you say,” Spadafora noted. “When you have that gift and ability, you have to use it and she does just that.”

Her teammates hear that from her as well. It’s so important given they’re a young team, first-year forward Teja McCormick pointed out. She brings the team together – holding them accountable, motivating them and pushing them to get better.

She would share her experiences and knowledge. She would tell first-year guard Maya Weekes what she needed to work on whenever Weekes would make a mistake. Whenever Weekes would have a question, Jenna would have an answer. She’s always open to helping her. Jenna’s a big role model for her.

Can you see her cheering her teammates on from the bench? Can you hear her? She’ll celebrate them, according to Spadafora. She wants them to do well.

Do you know where she gets that from? Perhaps her parents.

“Good things happen to good people,” Chris always tells her. “You be good to everybody and good things will happen to you.”

When Jenna walks into practices these days, it’s not dread that she feels.

She feels the fun and enjoyment – even when she doesn’t have a good practice. She feels it from her and her teammates always pointing and smiling at each other – always celebrating each other’s successes. She finds herself enjoying those moments.

She wants to come to practice every day. She wants to play with her teammates and hang out with them. They’ve become such a large part of her life.

That’s part of what made seniors night so emotional. She knows she only has so many moments with them remaining.

Her parents know that as well. They’ve watched her – and supported her – through everything. It could be the end of a journey for them as well.

Chris woke up on 3:30 am the morning of her seniors night, full of nervous excitement. He couldn’t fall back asleep. He kept thinking about it, wanting her to have a good seniors night.

Jenna’s future is still undecided. She’s applied for physio school at McMaster. She’s gotten into teacher’s college elsewhere. She could come back for another year at McMaster – or somewhere else. She still has one more year of eligibility…

“I’m really really sad to – hopefully not, fingers crossed – be leaving,” she said. When she thinks of her journey, she thinks of how grateful she is to her parents, coaches and teammates. How lucky she is to experience all she has.  

Hearing and knowing all that, perhaps now you can understand all the emotions she felt as she left the court. Perhaps you can feel it as well.

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics