THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407060050
SECTION: HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
IF YOU LISTEN to the experts, then the eight 14- and 15-year-old girls shooting baskets in the gym at Kemps Landing Middle School were in great danger.
In danger of losing their self-esteem. Of doubting their ability to succeed. Of deliberately fading into the background and giving up the playing field to boys.
Yeah, right.
The only danger these lanky adolescents faced was heat stroke from running for two hours in the airless, sweltering gym in Virginia Beach.
You could see their self-confidence in every jump shot they took; in every poke of their bony elbows to fend off a teammate's efforts to steal the ball; in every higher-than-high leap to tip the ball out.
They're good, these girls. Good enough to be going to the National AAU Tournament in Cocoa Beach, Fla., this month - if they can raise the $5,600 they need for air fare, hotel and food.
This Boo Williams under-14 AAU girls' basketball team was formed three years ago. Only four of those original 12 are left, yet all the girls play together with the grace and harmony of a symphony orchestra.
They won their regional competition in Woodbridge in April by defeating a team, in triple overtime, that had never lost at the regional level. At the state tournament in Charlottesville later that month, they placed second and qualified for the nationals - beaten by the very team they'd defeated at the regionals.
``They have to be very committed,'' says coach Tom Gorney of his team. ``Most of them play three nights a week on school and recreational teams; any time a gym is open, they're playing.''
The first time Gorney and his two assistant coaches took the team to a tournament, they agreed there was something ``spooky'' about the girls.
``They were almost too quiet,'' says Gorney. ``Very focused and hard- working.''
Just getting the girls to practices has proved challenging. Two of the girls live on the Peninsula; one lives in Suffolk. They all play varsity or junior-varsity for their high school teams, and some play other sports as well, like soccer.
But, says assistant coach Beth Dunton, ``they all show up for practice; they're very attentive, they listen to everything we tell them. They want to win at all costs.''
They even voted to take on two players from an opposing team to go with them to the nationals, replacing two of their own players who would be gone during the summer.
``I've had girls more interested in when is their next date,'' says Dunton, talking about several first-year girls who dropped off the team after realizing how grueling the schedule was. ``But these kids, school and basketball are their highest priority.''
This team actually qualified for the national tournament last year, when it placed third in the state. But its coaches and the league's founder himself, Boo Williams, felt they just weren't ready, said Peggy McKinnon, whose daughter plays for the team.
That's why the trip this year is so important.
To raise the money for the eight-day tournament, the girls and their parents have stood over endless vats of boiling hot dogs working the concession stand at AAU tournaments; sold candy and held car washes; and solicited private and corporate donations. They'll be at the Anheiser Busch golf tournament at Kingsmill in Williamsburg selling concessions for a 10 percent take; and McKinnon is personally contacting area city councils for donations. She heard Newport News and Hampton gave $5,000 to the Boo Williams boys' teams - but she was too late to apply for the girls' share.
So far, the team has raised about half the money it needs for the eight-day tournament, says team mother Susan Heath.
``And that's the bare minimum; that's four girls to a room,'' she said.
Heath is a tireless promoter for the team, attending every practice and tournament, writing solicitation letters to potential contributors. And in each letter, she notes not only the team's prowess on the court but the benefits they receive from playing. ``Through basketball, our girls have learned to set priorities and manage their time; to have disciplined work habits, the importance of eating a healthy diet, how to work with all kinds of people as a team, how to compete and to be leaders and most importantly, not to ever give up,'' she writes.
``I don't think anyone realizes how many good things athletics does for young ladies,'' she says, as her daughter runs up and down the court, vivid in a black T-shirt and red shorts, her dark hair held by a red elastic band.
``This provides a wonderful focused peer group for young ladies; they learn to function in the real world. It's a valuable outlet for them that keeps them out of drugs, drinking and other trouble.''
``I just love basketball,'' says Melissa Kristofak, a tall, lanky 15-year-old with honey-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. She started playing the sport in the sixth grade with her dad. Even though she tore a ligament in her knee last year, she's still out on the court running with a blue splint protecting the old injury.
``My friends say, `Don't you want to go out?' and I'll say, ``No, I don't have the energy.' I enjoy this so much, it's worth all my time.''
To ShaVohn McKinnon, 15, of Hampton, basketball is more than just exercise - it's her ticket to college. She's already received her first recruitment letter from Georgetown University, her mother says.
``It gives her an outlet; it's something for her to do,'' says Peggy McKinnon. ``She treats it like a job, and her teammates are people she has to work well with. She looks after her team rather than herself in a game.''
``It keeps me having a positive attitude about myself and it keeps my confidence up,'' ShaVohn says shyly.
For Candice Edwards, 15, of Newport News, the game defines ``who I am and what I want to do.'' She wants to play professional basketball after college.
But she recognizes the low regard in which girls' sports are still held by the public: ``It's not the same as the boys' teams,'' she says of the games. ``More people come to the guys' games than to ours. I guess because guys can dunk.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Erin Duckett, #31, left, of the Boo Williams under-14 AAU girls'
basketball team, guards assistant coach Beth Dunton during
practice.
by CNB