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She’s never played the game, but K’lynn Ess loves basketball.

Instead of on-court action, she’s been a behind-the-scenes force as manager for Bridge City’s girls’ team, and next week at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 18, in the Bridge City High School library, Ess will sign a letter of intent to be a Lamar University girls’ basketball manager while attending on a “full-ride” scholarship to study early education.

“I’ve been going to basketball games since I was a kid,” she says. “I like it because it’s fast-paced – and not slow.

“I worked for Coach [Jackie] Scales my freshman year and have worked for Coach [Alan] Ashworth since I was a sophomore.”

Her father David Ess, now with a Beaumont crane-rigging company, was on the 1981 winning Bridge City team. He will attend the signing along with his wife and K’lynn’s mother, Lori, who works at Hatton Elementary School; and K’lynn’s sister Kember Ess. The family is also good friends with LU Coach Sondra Ancelot Lundvick, formerly with Orangefield ISD.

K’lynn has been active in summer basketball camps with Lamar. As an LU student, she will work in a manager/trainee position.

“I’ll work with the coach to do whatever he needs to have done,” she says. Her $30,000 yearly scholarship covers most things except parking passes and health insurance.

“First I had to apply to Lamar and be accepted by Lamar-Beaumont,” she says. “Then after that I was able to go talk to Coach [Larry] Tidwell, and he typed up my letter and I signed it with him in his office. I was pretty excited about it and looking forward to it, because I’ve known I was probably going to get it since we’ve been active with Lamar.”

The other thing K’lynn loves is working with young children. She wants to be an early education teacher after serving as an aide with Bridge City ISD’s “Ready, Set, Teach” program.

“I’ve really grown to like the kindergarten age,” she says.

The senior is also a member of the Student Council and president of the Criminal Justice Club, and has worked with the Varsity Cheer Staff to help out cheerleaders on Friday nights. She was formerly on the Yearbook Staff and has attended several college advanced placement classes.

So what does a manager do? K’lynn provides the “Readers’ Digest” version.

“You get things ready for the games, make sure the locker room is in order and get the coaches what they need. Make sure the players have their stuff and if you have any special guests (ex-coaches or ex-players) take care of them. And you help load and unload the buses for away games.”