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Last academic year our little girl had played on the junior falcons team, a developmental team heavy on younger players and all about equal playing time, learning the basics, etc. One year later it was show time for our little girl. She was able to handle tryouts well and worked hard to make her way to the top team of the MS program. She was also - for better or for worse - "stuck" with her daddy as a coach!
The season was one of learning, but also one of growing. Our girl, who at the outset of the season showed promise in terms of hustle and team play, was not interested in being a point guard. She saw herself as a shooting guard and happily dealt with being wing. She scored some. She has sone assists. She pushed herself hard. And she listened. And learned.
About half way through the season we made our way to Abu Dhabi for a tournament there. In the first game of the day we found ourselves being trounced by an ACS Abu Dhabi team filled with confidence and power. The coaches tried a variety of formations but kept coming up with an essential ingredient missing. We needed someone who could bring the ball down and stay calm under pressure, who could look around and make the best of things even when the going was getting tough. We turned to Amalia at the beginning of the second game. She was the fifth person we tried in this position and the team we were playing was one that had just defeated out Dubai rival quite handily.
In the first play as point guard Amalia dribbled the ball down just left of the top of the three point line. She was met with a defender who pressured her a good deal. She almost casually did a little spin move to her left, dribbled once more, stopped with a jump stop in the middle of the key and took a nice shot. The shot missed to the right, but we knew at that moment that we had our new point guard.
She would continue to have a great season. One with lots of opportunities for growth and development, where basketball was much more competitive, and much more fun too! She worked very well with her teammates and finished the season by leading the team to victory against ACS Abu Dhabi and, in so doing, put herself in line for a great future as a basketball player!
As all this was happening, our little girl continued to be that happy-go-lucky girl what we've come to love. Not the fastest. Not the strongest. Not the tallest. But a great teammate. A great listener. A great member of any team (or family). We love you glykoula!
