It’s 3:45 and Tricia Pabst is beginning to warm up for her daily basketball practice. She runs around the gym shooting lay-ups, jump shots, and free throws. Just like her Mom did many years ago. Same school and the exact same gym.
Sophomore Tricia Pabst always knew sports were her thing. She continues to play for Coach Anthony Konsewicz on varsity and is a starter. Pabst also plays volleyball in the fall as well. Her mom, Barbara Pabst is a great role model for her, having recently been inducted into the Niles West Sports Hall of Fame.
Pabst has come so far, and aims to go farther, hopefully continuing to follow her mom’s footsteps in high school. However, she is unsure of playing in college like her Mom.
“My mom broke records at DePaul and at Niles West. She recently got inducted into the Niles West Hall of Fame, so yes, it is a little bit intimidating. I don’t think I can live up to what she accomplished, but she always tells me to do my best and make something happen,” Pabst said. “One major thing my mom has taught me about sports is to work hard. If you don’t ever work hard, you won’t succeed. To become as skilled as she was, she worked her tail off all the time. With that, she got a scholarship to play at DePaul University and did crazy good. At the moment, I believe she is DePaul’s all time 5th leading scorer, without the 3 point line because it had not even been invented yet. If you work hard now and give all you have in every game and every practice, you will see how things can fall into place. The path only leads you to somewhere good.”
Pabst started playing sports when she was young. She played in various club teams and for the feeder team here at West. She kept up with her pre-high school career and continued playing beginning her freshman year.
“Feeder basketball and volleyball gave me a better view of what high school athletics was going to be like, it’s a lot of competition. I faced lots of teams and individuals that were better than us, which only influenced me to play harder. Feeder was also a good introduction to sports. I love sports not only because they are fun, but I have met a lot of great, new people along the way. I wasn’t intending playing in college, but if I got the opportunity, I would take advantage of it.” Pabst said.
She proceeds to play on the Girls Varsity Basketball team, alongside her cousin Sam Galanopoulos, which creates a strong bond between the two on and off the court.
“I love her. I don’t have any sisters, so she is like my own. We are so close to each other off the court that it improves our game on the court. We share so much in common, it’s crazy. I think we have some telepathy going on or something. We do everything together during practice, we talk and say things at the same time, we always wear the same colored outfits on accident, and we share so many jokes and stories. She is so fun to play with,” Pabst said.
Galanopoulos would definitely agree with the relationship between her and her cousin.
“Our relationship is great off the court because we are cousins, which definitely helps, and Trish is just a likeable person. She knows where I am on the floor, and vice versa. I love being able to pass to her in a time when we haven’t scored in a while, because I know she’ll make the shot,” Galanopoulos said.
So many people are proud of Pabst’s work ethic in her sports and her ability to bring people up when they are down.
Childhood friend and sophomore teammate Nicole Zelazko, said,“I have been playing with Tricia since I was in the 4th grade. We’ve been on the same feeder team for five years, middle school for three, and high school for two, and there isn’t one person I can imagine that could have pushed me in basketball like Tricia has. Tricia is by far one of the most smart and aware players on the court. I feel as if her ability comes natural to her, but she is also so dedicated and hardworking. Her dedication to the sport adds so much to the team, and I can’t imagine being on a team without her.”
“I am definitely proud of her because she works extremely hard. Someone on our team could be feeling down, or not be playing their best, and she just shoots some words of encouragement their direction. Also, she is so fun to have as a teammate which helps make basketball that much more enjoyable,” Galanopoulos said.
Pabst and the varsity team will be playing at Waukegan tonight at 7:00 p.m. for their final game in regular season.
