Amanda Reale is a forward on the Holy Spirit girls basketball team. Publisher Dave O’Sullivan talked with the 17-year-old Margate resident last week as the Spartans were preparing for the 2014-15 season. Sully: What has the mood been like in the preseason? How excited are you guys to get going? Reale: We can’t wait. We’re excited for our first game. We’ve been working hard at practice. We’ve really stepped up our pace and we just have to work hard this year. Sully: What’s the toughest thing about preseason, just the anticipation of the first game? How do you get through these first few weeks when it’s just practice every day? Reale: It’s not the anticipation of the first game, it’s definitely getting back into condition. There is nothing like basketball condition. Sully: How do you simulate that in the offseason? 
Amanda Reale is a senior forward on the Holy Spirit High School girls basketball team. She helped lead the Spartans to a 20-win season a year ago that included a big victory over Holy Cross. So far this season, Reale and the Spartans are off to a 2-0 start. (Glory Days Magazine 2014 file photo/Dave O’Sullivan) Reale: I’m a two-sport athlete, so my fall actually consists of rowing and lifting, which I don’t do during basketball season. I try to run, but it still isn’t like practice. Sully: How long does it take until you feel like you are in good basketball shape? Does that happen before the first game or does it take until the end of December? Reale: It happens right around the first game. Sully: What are the team goals for this year? Have you set any team goals, or is it more of, hey, let’s just see where we are after the first couple of games? Reale: Before the season we had a meeting with the seniors and the coaches. We set a few goals, like to win 20 games again. We’re also focusing on winning a few more out-of-conference games. Last year we might have won one or two, so we’re trying to step up our game outside of (the Cape-Atlantic League). Sully: How much pressure do you feel like there is as a Holy Spirit basketball player? It’s such a prestigious school in terms of basketball. So many great players have played there. Do you feel like there is pressure on you guys? Reale: We do have some history here and it’s hard to maintain that, but we all are very passionate about the sport. We just need to keep working hard. We do feel a lot of pressure to meet goals, but we work hard together. Sully: What have you been working on, personally? Going into your final season, what do you want to improve on the most? Reale: I need to work on driving to the basket and scoring more. Sully: What would you say has been your strength throughout your career? Reale: I like to play defense. I really like to play defense, that’s always been my favorite thing to do. That’s my strong suit. Sully: You don’t hear that too often from a basketball player. Where did that mindset come from? Reale: I’m aggressive at heart, so defense comes naturally. We have a new defense this year — well, we had it last year but it’s still relatively new — and it’s harder to learn, but it’s very fun to play. Sully: What’s the worst thing about the high school basketball season? Getting done with a game at night when it’s so cold out? Reale: I always wear two pairs of pants and two sweatshirts when I leave the gym. Definitely the three-game weeks are hard. That hurts your knees and you are just exhausted after the week is over, but you just have to keep going. Sully: Who is the rowdiest player on the bus when you go to away games? Reale: We haven’t seen that too much yet. I’m thinking one of the new freshman who is really stepping up is going to be. She’s really funny. Her name is Fran. Sully: What about Audrey Wilson? She’s a captain on the soccer team and one of the leaders on the basketball team. What’s her personality like out on the floor? Reale: She is very forthcoming. On the floor she is a great athlete, I love playing alongside her. Sully: What about coach (Dennis) Smith? Does he get on your case in practice? Reale: He’s always on my case, but that’s what a coach has to do. Sully: What about pregame music? What gets you pumped up? Reale: I don’t really listen to pregame music. I listen to whatever the music is in the gym at the time. On the bus I’ll listen to something that keeps my head calm and my nerves down. I listen to a lot of alternative music. Sully: Do you have any particular gift in mind you’d like to get this Christmas? Reale: No, I’m just thankful for a break (from school). Sully: What’s the winter break like for high school kids. Is it tough to come back from that and get back into the school grind in January? Reale: Absolutely. Two weeks after our break we have midterms, so that’s a killer. Sully: Are you ready for that? Reale: No. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Girls basketball Q&A: Amanda Reale, Holy Spirit
