ThE MESSENGER - Franco-American School of New York

Sh a r k
Sp o r t s
Despite Big Changes, Varsity Girls Net Big Wins
By Oriana Durand ’13
New season, new coach, new players and new expectations. With only one
Senior still on the team, a few wins would have been enough, but a 6-8 record
proved to be a successful first season for a fresh team whose primary goal was uniting
its players and evaluating different alternatives to match this objective.
“Avec le départ des quatre joueuses qui représentaient les piliers de l’équipe,
cette saison s’annonçait plutôt compliquée,” said longtime player Marianne Rouche,
’14. But the team surpassed all obstacles, Marianne said:
“Une toute nouvelle
équipe qui
n’était pas habituée
à jouer ensemble, un
nouveau coach, une
nouvelle ligue, bref
tout avait changé et
nous ne savions pas
à quoi nous attendre.
Contre toute attente,
un esprit d’équipe et
une bonne ambiance
s’installèrent
rapidement. Les débuts
furent plutôt
durs, mais ce fut la
patience, les conseils, et les nombreux entrainements qui construisirent peu a peu
l’équipe. Nous voilà, fin de la saison avec un bon résultat final.”
The Varsity girls basketball team is essentially formed of different personas,
talents, and interests. At the end of the day, however, each individual comes together
for a 5:30 pm practice and has only one thing in mind: the game of basketball.
Throughout a long season of exhibition and 14 league games, late weekday and 8
a.m. Saturday practices, these girls put aside all tensions and differences to identify
each other’s strengths and weaknesses and improve as one.
With the team made up primarily of guards, the main objective was finding
the open player and creating opportunities for a drive to the paint. The “Varsity
Girls Playbook” has stood as a sort of bible, using different plays and formations for
particular situations, methods to break the opponents’ press, and various inbound
strategies. While shooting may not always have accumulated the necessary points,
Coach Faure advocated throughout the entirety of the season the use of quick passes
and triangular positioning, aiming to create space and allow for a desired drive to
the basket. Good defense and transitions have undoubtedly stood as frequent and
significant opportunities for quick points, and ultimately allowed us to control the
movement of the game. These fundamentals have intertwined and have led the
In the world of sports, February represents the most dramatic and exciting
period of the year: it includes the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star game.
The first event, the Super Bowl, gives the participants
plenty of time to trash talk and elevate the hype.
The San Francisco 49ers took down the Atlanta Falcons
28-24 in a comeback win to represent the NFC in the
championship. On the other side of the country, the
Baltimore Ravens took down the New England Patriots
28-13. This sets up an incredible Super Bowl match
up, as the 49ers and Baltimore Ravens being coached by
brothers Jim and John Harbaugh made it even better.
Despite a compelling second-half comeback
attempt by the 49ers, the Ravens held on to win the
vaunted Lombardi Trophey.
After four hours of hard-hitting football, we
traveled down to Houston for the NBA All-Star game, where the best players of
the country faced off. Representing the East were Rajon Rondo, Dwayne Wade,
Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, and Kevin Garnett. In the West, Chris Paul,
Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Dwight Howard starred. However,
a devastating knee injury now has Rajon Rondo out for the year, so Brook Lopez
stepped in for the East. This should have been a great game and, historically, the
Lady Sharks toward a good season and a promising future.
“C’est en grande partie grâce à notre coach Mr. Faure et notre capitaine
Oriana, donc bien évidemment un grand merci,” added Marianne. “Pour ma part,
encore une saison qui rime avec rigolade, bonne ambiance, détermination. La saison
de basket était, certes, différente mais remplie de super moments que cela soit sur le
terrain ou en dehors.”
A day in the life of a Varsity girl is, quite simply, thrilling. Locker room conversations
prior to a practice range from the latest gossip to a trip down memory lane
to a mere request for deodorant. Characteristic of high school girls, the lady sharks
troop with determination into the
pony tails. The motivation for game
day generally begins the previous
night by virtue of the many enthusiastic
Facebook posts on the “Varsity
Girls Basketball” group, and carries
on throughout the next day, with
strong support of fellow classmates
and faculty. Bus rides generally allow
adequate time to remove all jewelry,
distribute bobby pins and take care
of other last-minute preparations.
Despite displaying quintessential attributes
of lady players, these Varsity
girls nevertheless manage to capture
the true essence of unity and team
work through the determination
and perseverance they put into the
program. On November 24, bystanders
witnessed and appreciated
Two Weeks of Hype, Two Weeks of Game
By Thomas de Villemejane ’16
gymnasium in their mini shorts and high
Ten Girls To Carry
On Oriana’s Legacy
- Melisande Bal (11th)
- Mireille Bejjani (11th)
- Kiara Bernard (11th)
- Jennifer Roux (11th)
- Juliette Clochard (10th)
- Sixtine Fleury (10th)
- Clémence Rivoire (10th)
- Zoe Lapomme (8th)
- Alayna Bierly (8th)
- Gabriella Swartz (8th)
a two hour practice on the outdoor court
of FASNY’s Larchmont campus. Organized by the girls themselves, each individual
coached each other, and touched on virtually every aspect of the game—passing,
screens (écrans, as the team likes to call them), shot form, defense strategies, rebounds
and overall patience.
“We really improved during the season, coming together to support each
other on and off the court,” said Mireille Bejjani ’14. “The organized, quick passes
and strong defense that we achieved by the end of the season looked nothing like the
way we started out, and I look forward to making even more progress next year.”
Competing in two separate leagues, the girls faced different levels of basketball,
but displayed consistent improvement not only in game strategy, but also in team
chemistry and overall results. The Lady Sharks have set the bar high for future seasons,
but guarantee nevertheless the potential to surpass this year’s outcome. A successful
season with expectations reached, and many talented players left for next season to
push those expectations further.
All-Star Game is the highest scoring game of the season. Also, this year’s game presented
some of the best players in NBA history. Kevin Durant and Lebron James
are now the top two stars in the NBA, and are looking to make it all the way to
the Champtionship series. Something else that makes this game fun is the trade
deadline, where teams make last resort trades
to attempt to make the playoffs. It’s always interesting
to see how some players play knowing
they’ve just been traded.
The West won the game 143–138, and
Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers was
named the game’s most valuable player.
While these two games matched the amazing
hype, it was especially exciting considering
Ray Lewis, a defensive player on the Baltimore
Ravens, and one of the biggest trash talkers in
sports, was playing in his very last game. A nice
way to go out, with a second Super Bowl ring.
These games risk being overshadowed by the famous Super Bowl half-time
Photo by Chuck Cook, USA Today
show. Last year 140 million tuned in to see Madonna and, scandalously, M.I.A giving
the camera the finger. This year, Beyonce took to the stage and was joined by her
former co-singers from Destiny’s Child: Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland.
Even despite this reunion and a now-infamous power outage, sports were
what we talked about most this February, which is really what it’s all about.
T
he
F
uture