THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607020148
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 82 lines
ONE-HANDED LAYUPS. Three-point shots that touch nothing but net. Beating a press with behind-the-back and through-the-legs dribbling.
Not what you'd expect from a girls basketball team comprising players 12 and under.
But the Red Tide is different. It's an Amateur Athletic Union team that finished ninth in the nation last year. The team is in Cincinnati through July 6 to compete in the Junior Olympic national tournament for the second straight season.
Rather than spend their summers doing the things other 12-year-olds like to do, the girls have dedicated themselves to basketball.
``We have to practice everyday,'' said team captain Kia Butts, who'll be an eighth-grader at Crestwood in Chesapeake next year. ``It's something we have to put our hearts into all the time and give our best.''
The same goes for AAU parents.
Parents, if fund-raising efforts fall short, foot the bill for the travel costs of their child to play in each tournament. Fortunately for the Red Tide, the players raised $7,000 - $700 short of their goal - through car washes, raffles and doughnut sales and donations, leaving cost minimal for the parents.
``We have a lot of dedication. Sometimes as much as the girls,'' team mother Jan Butowicz said. Butowicz's daughter, Courtney, attends St. Gregory Catholic School in Virginia Beach. Practice in Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach has Butowicz, an English teacher at Granby, driving all over South Hampton Roads. Mom, as do most of the AAU parents, also attends weekend tournaments, where she has to pay for her food and lodging.
``We spend a lot of long hours fund raising, driving our kids around and trying to keep them upbeat and focused,'' said Jan Butowicz. ``The parents are just as enthusiastic as the girls. We all feel this is good experience for the girls.''
The girls, in turn, seem to enjoy the traveling part of it the most. Playing in the games is a close second and practice, naturally, is their least favorite part.
``It gives me the chance to meet people and practice my skills for school,'' Julie Hardison, a rising eighth-grader at Hickory Middle School said. ``I love the traveling. It's like getting a vacation and playing at the same time.
``Basketball is very important to me. I get to play all day with girls who are really good and get along very well.''
Participation in AAU leagues has helped build quality players at a young age, Red Tide coach Dan Brown said. Brown, an assistant at Princess Anne and Catholic and the head coach of Star of the Sea's parochial league team, scouts the recreation leagues, middle schools and area camps to find the best players for the team.
``I got involved when (Kempsville head coach) Greg Dunn asked me to help out in 1992,'' said Brown, a night auditor at the Thunderbird Motor Lodge at the Oceanfront. ``I figured, with top quality coaches and players, maybe I'd learn something. I love this sport and I want to be around it year-round.''
Brown, along with Kellam graduate Bernadette Hovancik and Salem junior Jenny Harmon, put together their team in February and held open gym in October to prepare for the return to the national tournament. In the process, the Red Tide have whipped some ``in-house'' Boo Williams' AAU squads, losing only to the 13-year-old team. The Red Tide won all five games at the Cape Henry tournament. Their closest match was a 63-60 win over the Beltway Cougars out of the Washington, D.C. area. They've even been known to beat up on a few boys teams in scrimmages.
``I really think AAU has helped the Southside quite a bit,'' Brown said. ``It's raised the level of play. All I ask is that the girls give me whatever they can.''
Corine Apaliski, a rising eighth-grader at Princess Anne Middle School, said that AAU is the reason behind her improvement on the court.
``My Dad videotaped the games last year and this year,'' she said. ``I watched the ones from last year and I can definitely see major improvement. My shot's better and I play better defense.''
But, she added, that's not the only reason she loves AAU basketball.
``I like to travel,'' she said. ``It's cool to see new places. It's hard to practice every night when it's so hot. But, it's worth it. Especially since we're going to Cincinnati.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Julie Hardison of Chesapeake turns up the defensive heat during a
Red Tide scrimmage at St. Gregory Catholic School in Virginia Beach. by CNB