Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat

Posted By: AlyssaVelles
Posted On: January 14th, 2019
Attending: Waterford Institute of Technology

The mascot at my high school, Norwich Free Academy, was a Wildcat. How ironic that the mascot for my Super League team here in Ireland is also a Wildcat! I thought it was cool when I learned that I would be playing for another Wildcats team. It brings back a lot of good memories.

High school is the place where I started to excel at basketball, a place and time of which I have fond memories. I had a pretty successful high school career playing under a tremendous coach, Bill Scarlata, whom I learned a great deal from. My high school team won our conference tournament three consecutive years. The Wildcats had a great fan following and they created an amazing atmosphere for us to play in, very similar to our Wildcat fan base here in Ireland. 

             

Although my family and friends cannot attend my games as they did in high school, the Wildcats community makes me feel like part of a family and their support is amazing! The Mercy school that we play our home games at is always packed with enthusiastic fans cheering us on every game. A lot of the girls that I coach come to support us at the games. It is great that I can serve as a role model to these young girls and inspire them to be the best they can be. My teammates and coaches are all amazing people that are always willing to lend a helping hand. In addition to all of my Irish teammates, our team consists of three Americans including myself, and a girl from Italy. Our head coach is from Greece. It is awesome to be able to play with people that come from different countries. We all get along well and it has been fun to learn about each of my teammates. I’m thankful to be surrounded by all of the people in the Wildcats community! They have made me feel so welcome.

Stay Updated! Sign up to our newsletter

Stay Updated! Sign up to our newsletter