Hi, I'm Precious

Precious Listana, one of the girls from DeMarillac that played for St. Mary's this season, reflects on how it felt to be an outsider coming in to St. Mary's.

Precious won the 2011 Girls Basketball Hustle Player of the Year Award

By Precious Listana

Coming from a different school and joining St. Mary’s Athletics isn't the typical sports team you receive in your school. Being one of the "noobies" in volleyball and basketball meant that I had to work extra hard.

Coaches like Heather and Thomas made my volleyball experience challenging, but also amazing at the same time. After every practice, I’d arrive at my house with sweat on my face knowing how this practice would improve the team and bring myself to a higher standard.

I thought that the St. Mary’s girls would be snobby and stuck-up, but Marissa, Serina and Catharine were far from that. They were welcoming, funny and dedicated to volleyball. I couldn’t ask for better teammates because I received the best.

The rest of us from De Marillac learned quickly we would need to suck it up and be at their level if we wanted to win. I will never forget the crabs and bunny hops we did for punishment or for fun so coaches could see us suffer.

The hardest part of volleyball for me was losing. I remembered how every loss impacted all of us in some way and it would make our days "down". But in every game, there is a winner and a loser; we just needed to decide which side we were. In the end, I can recall that I had one of the best volleyball experiences because we gave the best they had, and did the same for basketball.

Although basketball is much more intense than volleyball, because every stupid shot you choose to take also comes a yelling from Bryan. Since this was the first team I was on since 5th grade, I guess I was below a rookie, maybe a noob in a basketball team. With the very first game against St. John’s, I realized the skills I learned in basketball wouldn’t mean anything if I wouldn’t learn to be a teammate. I felt like every time I got the ball, it was a game of hot potato where I needed to pass the ball back to my teammate.

I lacked confidence, but with the help of all of my coaches and teammates, I built confidence and learned that passing is not the only option, but shooting was too.

I would make those layups and out of nowhere and even received the nickname Kareem from the guys. I guess St. Mary’s not only helped me with athletics, but also opened up new friendships.

Without James and Bryan, we wouldn't have become the successful team we were. So we didn’t make to championships, but from what I learned, there is always a winner and a loser. We weren't the losers, but the winners because we managed to become a team even though we had players that went to four different schools.

We weren’t just teammates, but we became great friends. Like what Beverlyn said before, we're the "amazing seven" and nothing will ever change what our team has.

I envy that the St. Mary’s sports program has their own BlogSpot, and Timmy's Corner bit. I will remember the jokes Bryan tells in epic video and the stupid things he would make people do, especially in Timmy’s Corner.

For example, the time I remember the most is when he told Timmy to tell Marissa he had a crush on her. I really think the blog and Epic Videos bring everyone in the sports program together.

Lastly, I just want to thank the St. Mary’s sports program for letting De Marillac kids play. Without that opportunity, there wouldn’t be sports in our school.

I’m grateful and will cherish the experiences forever.