Thursday, February 16, 2006

     Southbury

     There were no tears Wednesday night, or sadness, or pain. At Pomperaug High School, they have used up all their tears. The sadness and pain have been put away for a later date.
     Senior Night in most high school gymnasiums is a potent mixture of joy and sorrow, hugs and hankies. But not Wednesday night in Southbury. The Pomperaug girls basketball team turned Senior Night into a celebration. They handed out flowers and hugged mom and dad, and then they went out and bopped visiting Weston, 56-29.
     It was win No. 15 on the season, out of 19, for a team that has showed resolve and strength, more than anyone had any right to expect, following the death of longtime coach Pete Kamide of a heart attack at age 53. It happened midseason, just hours after a Pomperaug home game. No one understood it then, and no understands it now. All they can do is go out and play.
     Wednesday night, they played for themselves in their final home game, but they also played for the man who gave them the passion for this game.
     "He has been our guiding light," said senior Kaitlynn Cates. "With everything that has happened to us, he would want us to fulfill our goals."
     Kamide set three goals for his team this season. The first was to win the South-West Conference Colonial Division. With a victory tonight over Kolbe Cathedral, Pomperaug could clinch that title. The second goal is to win the SWC championship, and that tournament begins play in a week. The third goal is the toughest, to get back to Central Connecticut State University and play for a CIAC title.
     But don't you dare tell the Pomperaug girls what tough is. They already know.
     It can be a burden dedicating a season to someone's memory. But this has been no burden for Pomperaug. Chuck Drury came in to take over the team after Kamide's death and, as he put it, "I told the girls to play for the program. Of course, Coach Kamide was the program."
     Drury changed nothing since he stepped back in after eight seasons as an assistant.
     "I put the practice schedule in my back left pocket, just like Pete did, and we play the same music. We haven't changed anything. I haven't tweaked anything. And sometimes, when the girls are working off to the side during practice, I swear I can see Pete's guiding hand with them."
     The Panthers are a good basketball team, and they would be 15-4 at this point in the season under almost any circumstances. But it is likely that a lot of young ladies grew up faster in the past six weeks than anyone could have anticipated or certainly wished for.
     "It was hard on us," admitted senior Paige Moore. "He was almost like a second father to me. I think we have become a stronger team, and stronger people too. I never had to deal with anything like this before, this close to me."
     Jackie Johannes led Pomperaug with 13 points Wednesday night, and she has cracked the 1,000-point barrier for her career. She doesn't believe Kamide is far away on game days.
     "We've been through a lot, and when it first happened, it didn't hit us right away. All we said is that we are going to play hard and play for him. I think we have done that."
     Tara Koliani, the fourth and final Pomperaug senior, believes that team chemistry has always been there, "but we have really come together through all of this to play for Pete."
     At Senior Night on Wednesday night, no one cried, even though they had a right to. Instead they won and they laughed, and well they should, because there is happiness in playing for Pete.