Sure, everyone wants to win, but one of the true measures of athletes is how they carry themselves during the lows as well as the highs. Twenty-year-old Irene Maldonado’s optimism and team spirit during a rough season for Allan Hancock College’s women’s basketball team is quite telling.
“She’s a great teammate, just gives and gives, not ‘I want, I want,’” said head coach Sheri Bates.
Maldonado, No. 20, is a liberal arts major, and says she’s “heading towards teaching.” There’s still room for other directions on that path, though.
“It’s different every day,” Maldonado said with a laugh. “I hope to take basketball as far as I can. Basketball is going to keep me in school.”
As for the current state of the game, Maldonado is to the point about the rough season the lady Bulldogs have been having: “We’re just coming back too late. All our games have been 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there. We need to play the whole 40 minutes.”
She explained, however, that even with the losses, this season has really brought the team closer.
“It’s showing us we can play together, and we’re making improvement,” she said at a recent game. “Last time we played this team, we only scored four points in the first 12 minutes. Tonight, we were only down by seven at the half.”
It’s this kind of honesty and self introspection that has endeared Maldonado to Coach Bates.
“It’s honestly been a pleasure to see her develop out on the court,” Bates said.
—Nicholas Walter
This article appears in Dec 25, 2008 – Jan 1, 2009.