Rachel Torres knew she had to be a true leader this season for the DeKalb girls basketball team. Not a cheerleader. Not a leader by example.

No, if the Barbs were going to succeed, Torres needed to be the type of leader who said harsh words when they were needed. She needed to be able to dig her team out of slumps with the tone of her voice. She needed to let it be known when her teammates weren’t working hard enough.

“Sometimes it’s hard to be the person that has to get angry when people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, they’re not working hard,” Torres said. “It’s hard to tell people your age that they need to do something else, because I don’t want to sound bossy. Before, I was all positive. This year, I tried to get on people and make them work hard.”