"I'm going to win 12 varsity letters," she said. "I'm going to be on that wall."

Since the Gambys moved to Pickerington in 1996, they have attended all home games for the girls high school basketball team. After a game one day, Brittany's father, Larry Gamby, became involved in a conversation with another fan, leaving Brittany to her thoughts. As she looked around, she became fixated on a picture of 1995 graduate Cori Shade. During Shade's four-year career, she lettered four times each in volleyball, basketball and softball.

Ten years later Gamby won't be joining Shade on that wall. Instead, she will be the first athlete at Pickerington High School North to earn 12 letters.

"It's shocking when you succeed at something you've wanted for so long," Gamby said. "I still get goose bumps talking about it. To accomplish a goal I've had since I was 8 is one of the biggest and proudest moments of my life. I've been dreaming about this and getting myself ready to at least get a chance to do this. The determination and the drive I had to do this is one of the strongest emotions I've ever had."

Gamby's road to 12 letters wasn't spent as a backup or sitting on the bench. She has been a key component for the golf, basketball and softball teams. She has played in the state golf tournament and in a state semifinal in girls basketball and has won more than 70 softball games.

As a sophomore, Gamby started for the girls basketball team that reached a Division I state semifinal. The season, she averaged 7.0 points and shot 35.4 percent (45-for-127) from 3-point range and named second-team all-OCC-Central Division.

As a junior, Gamby shot 171 (85-86) at the state golf tournament for North's second-best score behind Lauren Ferguson (161). As a team, the Panthers finished seventh (699) behind champion Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (649)

This season, Gamby continues to be a tough out in softball. After hitting .373 last season and .414 as a sophomore, Gamby, a shortstop, had a .302 batting average with 11 RBI and a 94.4 percent fielding percentage through 20 games.

"Gamby has three things going for her," girls basketball coach Dave Butcher said. "She's extremely athletic, she has naturally inherited strength that allowed her to step in at an early age and she has a lot of athletic instinct."

He didn't know it at the time, but Butcher played a big part in the Gamby family moving to Pickerington. Larry Gamby was in dental school at Ohio State from 1983-91 and after graduation he served a four-year commitment to the Army to honor his ROTC scholarship. When he finished his time at Fort Lewis, Wash., Gamby remembered a friend from Ohio State told him about Pickerington.

"I followed the girls state championship run in the papers in 1985," Larry said. "I was told if you ever had a boy, Pickerington has a great wrestling program and, oh, if it's a girl they've got an unbelievable basketball program. That stuck in my head."

In March 1996, Larry and Lisa Gamby and their daughter moved to Pickerington and immediately immersed themselves in supporting the local girls basketball program.

"Dave was always good letting Brittany and some of her friends follow the Lady Tigers," Lisa Gamby said. "Brittany was in third grade when the 1999 team won the national championship. Those girls were very inspirational to Brittany.

"I think that's why she chose to play basketball in college and it is the only sport she has never wanted to quit."

Close calls

Gamby's quest almost didn't happen on two occasions.

Entering her sophomore softball season she wasn't having fun and seemed disinterested in the sport. Her friend, starting catcher Ris McDaniel, was aware of Gamby's goal for 12 letters.

"We didn't get to spend much time together our freshman year as she was on varsity and I was on junior varsity," McDaniel said. "I was looking forward to playing with her our sophomore year.

"I wanted her to make the decision she felt comfortable with, but I had told her not to take softball so seriously and think about how much fun we would have."

McDaniel's plea worked and the two friends led the offense that spring and played together on a summer traveling team.

Toward the end of summer, Gamby wasn't feeling quite right. A day before her junior year began she was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

"The way mono effects your body is nothing I've every gone through," Gamby said. "I was tired all the time. I had to sit around and do nothing to get better. I didn't want to."

That fall, Gamby was North's No. 1 golfer but was limited to OCC tournaments.

"She is one of the most gifted athletes I ever had the pleasure to coach," golf coach Kitty McGrievy said. "She could do amazing things on the golf course, on the ball field and on the basketball court. She was able to flow from one sport to another." 

Time management

Gamby quickly learned to manage her time.

"It was hardest my freshman year," she said. "You don't have a car so you have to rely on parents or older teammates."

Now, Gamby has learned to go about her day so she can perform well in her sport, spend time with her family and, most importantly, get school work done on time.

"I always made it a priority to get my homework done," she said. "If that means I don't get enough sleep, I make up for it on the weekends. We'll go to church on Sunday morning, then I'll come home and take a nap before my dad and I go play nine holes."

Larry Gamby played football, basketball, wrestled and ran track in high school. When Brittany was born, he was determined not to have a girl who sat on the sidelines.

"I wanted to make sure I would play with her so she would be able to play sports, be active and healthy," he said.

When Brittany was 6 months old, Larry noticed her sitting in a chair closely following a basketball game. At 3 years old Gamby always was dribbling a basketball (both right-handed and left-handed), hitting handballs with a Whiffle ball bat or swinging a golf club.

"They would always be out in the back yard," Lisa Gamby said. "Larry has been a big inspiration."

Gamby credits her coaches as the ones who pushed her and served as driving forces, but most credit went to her parents.

"I remember days my mom was fixing dinner or doing laundry and I would ask her to throw the ball with me," Gamby said. "She'd stop whatever she's doing and go throw with me. My dad taught me everything about basketball. I thank God for my talents, but thank my parents for helping me through this. I'm proud of what I've done and I know my parents are proud, too."

Last November, Gamby signed a letter of intent to play Division I basketball at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

"Brittany hasn't reached her basketball potential yet," Butcher said. "When she can concentrate on that solely, she'll even become a better player."

Gamby is not tentative about the transition from high school to college. In high school, she would improve on her skills only during practice. She simply didn't have time to spend outside practice to work on her golf swing, her jump shot or her fielding.

"It'll be much easier," Gamby said. "I'll be playing one sport and concentrate on that. I will be focused on one sport and not worry about my hitting or getting my swing back for golf. I'll be a lot more successful at basketball at the collegiate level."