Last year Irini decided to try her luck in the three formal sports that the school provided: Soccer, Track & Field and Basketball. She loved all of them with a special affinity toward soccer. This year she decided to continue with all of them but had the additional bonus (?) of having daddy as her co-coach along with her favorite Ms. Turner! She loved the combination of the coaching with Ms. Turner being the loving, supportive teacher of the basics and with daddy jumping in during games and competitions (in a less-than-overly-intense way, that is). The combination allowed her to flourish and become one of the leaders of the team.
As a fifth grader now Irini had the chance to show the other girls what is was like being on the team. She loved leading the cheers and was particularly motivated to play hard-nosed basketball. The highlight moment of the season probably came on the last day of the season during a round-robin competition where all the girls at the school were subdivided into teams and played for fun. Score was kept but otherwise it was an informal day of great basketball. Irini's team was down by 2 with about 10 seconds left as the other team picked up the ball and brought it down the court. At this age level the defenders have to wait until the other team crosses half court and so she, and her teammates, did just that. Then, as the half course was crossed she jumped out to intercept a pass with about five seconds remaining on the clock. She rushed down the court, dribbling on her right side, passed the opposing players and did a lay up just as a buzzer sounded to tie the game! Though there was no overtime for this one it was as good as a win in our books!
Irini wasn't the highest scorer on the team, nor probably the best rebounder. But when it came to defensive stands, steals and effort she is solid gold! Daddy can't be prouder!
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