The coach of the Grande Prairie Regional College women’s basketball team is excited to have Athabasca’s Amy Kobzey joining his team this fall.
Having scouted her for years, Grande Prairie Wolves head coach Dave Waknuk knows that, in Kobzey, his team is getting an athlete who was an impact player for her high school club and who has the potential to play the same role in college ball.
“I’ve seen her growth and development as a player. Her best quality is she has versatility. She can play a little bit of everything on the court,” he said. “She’ll play in a forward slot for us, but she’s also able to carry the ball and she has a good outside shot. It gives you a lot of possibilities for things to do with her and different situations to use her in.”
Kobzey will be there in September when school begins and the Wolves begin the long preparations for their 2011-12 season. They’ll hit the court soon after classes start so as to be ready for their October regular season opener. After that it will be a marathon of basketball that won’t stop until the season ends in march. Like all first-year players, the EPC graduate will have to adapt to a far more demanding schedule than the one she’ll remember from high school.
“Strength and conditioning is such a big part of this next level, because of the length of the season. It’s definitely a grind,” said Waknuk.”
Of course, Kobzey is no stranger to hard work, having pushed herself to learn the game of basketball and develop the kind of skills that enticed Grande Prairie and other college programs. Even so, balancing the demands of college athletics with those of college education is always a challenge, even for the most dedicated of athletes.
But Kobzey is well equipped to handle such pressures, and Waknuk should know; he’s worked with her at annual camps for years now, and he has a high opinion of the coaching she received at EPC.
“(EPC coach) Wade Hicks has done a great job with that basketball program. Every year they’re able to produce a few players that have the skillset for college ball,” said Waknuk. “That’s where Amy has had the big advantage, she’s had great coaching right from the start.”
EPC is sending Kobzey to a team that won its league championship last year, and went to nationals. But with a new influx of players this year and the absence of a lot of graduating Wolves, the expectations for this coming year aren’t necessarily that high. The important thing, according to Waknuk, is for the new team to work out its own identity, and new players like Kobzey will play a big role in that process.
“I don’t like to say we’re rebuilding, because that implies we’re starting from nothing and we have a good core coming in. But we’re going to have a young team, and there will be a lot of opportunities for first-time players,” he said.
“There’s always a transition (for new players). The thing we try to get across is the difference in speed and knowledge of the game. Everyone on the college team was a good player in high school and everyone deserves to be there. There are no weak spots on the floor.”
The challenge for all of the new Wolves will be to get into the swing of things early and make themselves at home in college ball. From everything he knows about Kobzey, Waknuk doesn’t think she’ll have any troubles doing just that.
“I’m pretty confident she’ll pick it up quickly. She likes to compete and she works as hard as anyone. She’s at her best when the stakes are high and she was a great team player for EPC.”
EPC’s loss will no doubt be the Wolves gain this season and in the years to come.
