September 4th, 2013 | Uncategorized
The first time Shelby and I arrived at Kubs was back two weeks ago to play Yale. When we were warming up, I tried to discretely inhale a Special K bar. Someone ran up behind me, tapped me on the back, and said, “You can’t eat that during warm-ups” in an adorable Irish brogue. Still getting acclimated to this culture, I wasn’t sure how to respond to this bold 10 year old. After I offered her the other half, it seemed to alleviate her distress and she darted off.
At halftime as I ran out of the locker room, the same little voice behind me shouted, “Hey, what the heck happened?” implying that she fully expected our team to have the significant lead.
Later, upon formal introductions, we found out that both of our names are in fact Katie. Little Katie is quite the baller, and as a regular at Kubs, we have gotten quite familiar with each other. The first time we played one-on-one, she bounced the ball between my legs for a layup. The second day of camp, she exchanged her full Kobe uniform for her KG one in my honor, we had some photography lessons, and we’ve been tight ever since. She gets her own blog as a late birthday present, because I couldn’t be there to celebrate with her on Monday. But more than anything, she is the reason why we are working in Ireland. Sports have and will continue to change her life. And she is changing mine.
