Shooting Hoops and Stanford Dreams
Alyssa Naeher was beloved by every single one of her 15er nieces and nephews. She was someone the kids knew they could go to for anything. Whether it was advice about soccer, help for homework or just someone to play with, they knew that their Auntie Lyssa would always be there for them.
Someone who knew that a little better than the rest of her cousins was one Hallie Harris-Krieger.
Since their move to Pennsylvania a few years back, Hallie had found a new best friend in Alyssa. Alyssa had taken Ali’s offer of being first assistant at Penn State and moved her own little family from Chicago to the home across the street from Ali and Ashlyn.
From the time she was eight, Hal spent almost every Saturday afternoon she could at the Naeher home, searching for some shred of familiarity in a brand new state and town. Alyssa had welcomed her niece with open arms, sometimes keeping the girl a little longer than Ali and Ashlyn thought was necessary but that was part of her job as Hal’s Aunt, to spoil the girl mercilessly.
So it wasn’t an unusual sight when Hallie, now a bright eyed seventeen year old with her entire life ahead of her, showed up on Alyssa’s porch one warm August morning.
“AUNTIE HA-WEE!” little four year old Silas had beaten his mother to the door and greeted one of his favorite people.
Silas was best friends with Hallie’s little brother Graham. But get Silas around both Harris-Krieger siblings and he’d pick Hallie first every time. Most likely because Hal would paint his nails in Hulk colors and jump on the trampoline with him (Graham was still too scared, much to Ali’s delight).
“I’m not your Aunt goober,” Hallie picked up the boy and peppered his face with kisses before setting him down “we’re cousins”
“What’s up Chip?” Alyssa happily pulled her niece into a bear hug.
“Wanna shoot hoops old timer?” Hallie raised an eyebrow and dribbled the basketball a few times on the front step.
Saturday morning basketball had become a tradition with the two women. Alyssa had been kicking Hallie’s ass for years until last weekend when the seventeen year old had hit a miraculous three point shot just as the make shift buzzer on Alyssa’s phone went off. Hallie hadn’t let Alyssa live it down for the last six days.
Naher scoffed and gently pushed Hallie towards the full sized basketball court on the side of the house.
“Just a shoot around and remind me to never let you win in one on one again.”
Hallie’s eyes narrowed with skepticism. “You let me win?”
“Of course I let you win Hallie Blaire” Alyssa tied her Nikes and slipped on an old sweatshirt before helping Silas into his own little Jordans.
Hallie was shocked, speechless as she followed her aunt and cousin down to the court. Alyssa Naeher had let her win. Now that she thought about it, Alyssa hadn’t been playing as rough as she usually did with Hallie and Hal had been winning a more than normal amount of challenges.
“No wonder they call you the Silent Assassin” Hallie grumbled.
Alyssa laughed and pulled her niece into a headlock, rubbing her fist against the girl’s head playfully.
“Oh you’ll beat me one day. I mean, I’ll be dead but one day Hal pal. Now c’mon let’s shoot.”
Alyssa and Hallie began their shoot around, the older giving the younger pointers on her form and running her through light shooting drills. Silas contributed to the fun by shagging balls for his mother and cousin, sometimes going off to his kid sized hoop and shooting his own little rubber basketball.
“Hey Aunt Lyss, can I tell you something?” Hallie was at the free throw line, starting her set of fifty shots.
“Always kiddo” Alyssa returned Hal’s shot.
“I want to go to Stanford.”
Alyssa stopped shagging and looked her niece dead in the eye. For the last six months almost every conversation she had had with Ashlyn had been focused around how excited Ash was for Hal to attend North Carolina. While Alyssa was happy for her friend, she noticed that as time went by, Hallie had lost her enthusiasm for her impending future as a Tar Heel. If she was being honest, Hallie’s news wasn’t that shocking.
“Stanford? Didn’t you just give your verbal commitment to Anson?”
The high school senior nodded, already feeling lighter now that she had told somebody about this secret eating at her for the last two weeks.
Hallie took a deep breath and let the warming fall air fill her lungs before continuing.
“I don’t want to go to North Carolina. Like the thought of having data for everything I do makes me want to puke. I want to go somewhere where people know me as Hallie Harris-Krieger first and ‘the daughter of Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris second.”
Hallie looked to her aunt and Alyssa nodded, letting the girl know that she followed and could continue.
“I had a panic attack about it a couple days ago and kind of decommitted to Anson in an email”
“You decommitted to Anson Dorrance?” the surprise was evident on Alyssa’s face.
Hallie’s face turned red with shame. Honestly it had been a move of passion and panic, nothing logical was happening in Hallie Blaire Harris-Krieger’s bedroom from the hours of nine to two am Thursday night.
“Yeah, but then I emailed Paul Ratcliffe right after and asked if he still had a need for scholarship midfielder.”
“Has Paul gotten back to you?” now Alyssa and Hallie had moved from the court to the front porch steps after sending Silas inside to watch Thomas the Train.
The teenager nodded, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her cheek on them.
“He said the spot was mine if I wanted and he was glad I reconsidered. Paul said he’d send my NLI after Chloe and I visit in October. I’m pretty sure this is against NCAA rules but whatever.”
“CHLOE?!” Alyssa now was in shock that her loudest niece had decommitted as well.
“Uhm yeah so Chloe kinda pulled the same manuever I did on Tuesday night. She hasn’t told Aunt Kells or Aunt Hope yet. God, I can’t imagine her telling Aunt Carli” Hallie’s eyes went wide with the fear Chloe must be harboring; telling her godmother that she wasn’t going to attend her alma mater.
Alyssa nodded, still keeping a neutral expression. She had to give Hallie credit for going head first into what she really wanted. But the kid needed to talk her feelings out instead of just act upon them. The raw emotion seemed to work well for her on the field but in real life, Alyssa knew it had the potential to bite Hallie in the ass.
“Have you told your parents any of this Hallie?” Alyssa put a hand on the teenager’s shoulder.
Hallie shook her head, tears filling her eyes and anxiety filling her stomach. The idea of telling her parents scared the shit out of her. Hal knew Ali would be upset but she’d come around faster than her Mama.
Her Mama.
Ashlyn was going to be crushed. All she had talked about since Hallie was knee high to a grasshopper was the idea of her daughter wearing Harris on the back of her jersey with a crisp number eleven right below it. Hell, Hallie’s bedtime stories as a kid had sometimes been about Hallie scoring the game winning goal against Penn State in the National Championship game.
Ashlyn had dreamed that one day Hallie would find her own Whitney and go on wild North Carolinian adventures together and find a friend for life.
And at one point, Hallie had wanted that as well. But for some reason, the moment she stepped onto the Chapel Hill campus as a potential Tar Heel, everything felt wrong. Sure she adored Anson, he was like an uncle to her and of course Brittani Bartok had been a strong presence in her life since day one but Anson’s system wasn’t a Hallie system.
Hallie had felt suffocated within North Carolina’s confines, trying to keep an excited attitude about having leaderboards for everything the team did. She could feel her resolve crumbling when staff and faculty members alike would come up to her, slap her on the back and say how excited they were to have another Harris back in the program and how Hallie better not get into any of the shenanigans Ashlyn did as a kid.
Hallie wasn’t Hallie at the University of North Carolina. Hallie was Ashlyn junior and she hated it.
Before Hallie could respond, Ali’s voice called to her from across the street, the defender waving and making her way to the Naeher home.
Alyssa noticed her niece’s face drain of any and all color. She smiled and pulled the teenager close in a side hug before letting go.
“Go tell Ali now Hal, she’ll help you. Remember that she loves you no matter where you go to school. Besides, she’ll calm Ash down with like, sex or something.”
“Oh my God,” Hallie pushed up from the porch “that was gross. But thank you Aunt Lyss, really.”
“Anytime kiddo, now go” Alyssa commanded, pointing towards the Harris-Krieger home.
Hallie nodded, starting a light jog towards her house. Here goes nothing.
“Hey Mom, can we talk for a bit?”