Frederick J. Salone Memorial Basketball Scholarship

Basketball has been a huge part of my life ever since I first picked up a ball as a young child. I've spent countless hours honing my skills on the court, constantly striving to improve my game and countless nights covered in my own sweat trying to make an endless amount of shots in a row or endless layups. I managed to letter in varsity as a sophomore, junior, and senior, as well as earn a starting position in my junior and senior years. Although I wasn't the highest scorer on the stat sheets, the work I did for my team off the stat sheets is insurmountable. I was the best team player I could be, consistently racking up assists, steals, and blocks, and stopping penetration from opposing players. I was a reliable defensive and offensive player who could play any position on the court. My head coach can vouch for my efforts towards our team that have gone unnoticed on stat sheets but are visibly apparent on the court. Because of these efforts, I have accepted an offer from Chatham University to play on their Women's Basketball team and I could not be more grateful. But all these accomplishments came with a price. I had to undergo two major surgeries - one on my ankle to remove a bone and fix torn ligaments and one on my shoulder to repair a torn labrum as well as various surrounding ligaments. My ankle injury occurred in my sophomore year of high school while I was playing in a club soccer league. I ended up missing all of the preseason and the first two months of the regular season. The recovery process was grueling, both physically and mentally, as I worked tirelessly to regain my strength and mobility. For those months I could only watch from the sidelines as my teammates played on without me which is a pain I cannot even begin to describe. However, I refused to let those setbacks keep me down. I rehabed and was able to come back and play the rest of the season, becoming the leading scorer on the junior varsity team in addition to getting varsity playing time and earning a varsity letter. In my junior year, I played injury-free as the only starter who was not a senior. But after my regular season ended, I injured my shoulder while playing in a travel basketball league. My world came crashing down when I learned I completely tore my labrum as well as the surrounding ligaments and would need reconstruction surgery that had a recovery time of 9-12 months, meaning I would miss my entire senior season of basketball. Despite these odds, I was determined to come back healthy for the full season. All odds were against me, doctors left and right were telling me it was nearly impossible. However, I refused to accept that fate and pushed myself into physical therapy every single day. This rehabilitation process was like no other I have faced before, it was devastating physically, but emotionally I couldn't be fazed as I was set on making it back healthy. I was on the court for the first day of preseason, practicing with zero restrictions. Now that I'm back to full health, I appreciate being able to play the game I love more than ever before. Basketball has molded me into the person I am today by instilling in me the principles of hard work, resilience, and teamwork. These core values will undoubtedly help me achieve continued success in all my future endeavors, both on and off the court.