I still don't believe "horrible" was ever used to describe Rhamat.
Oliver Barry CRS, GRI Real Estate Broker PARKS Real Estate Services 305 B Indian Lake Blvd Suite 220 Hendersonville TN 37075 Office: 615-826-4040 Mobile: 615-972-4239 [email protected] Begin forwarded message: > From: Shane Ford <[email protected]> > Date: August 20, 2017 at 9:24:02 PM CDT > To: GatorNews <[email protected]> > Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: Alhassan’s journey enters final season > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Alhassan’s journey enters final season > Florida’s volleyball standout has grown from “horrible” to a three-time > All-American > > > Florida middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan spikes the ball for a point during a > match against Kentucky last year. Alhassan, a senior, is a three-time AVCA > All-American. [File] > > By Pat Dooley > Gainesville SUN Staff writer > Published: Sunday, August 20, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. > Last Modified: Saturday, August 19, 2017 at 10:29 p.m. > When the phone rang, she knew it was something odd, something different, > something ominous. Who calls at 2 a.m. with good news? > > But she answered it anyway. The voice on the other end of the phone from > another continent told her to get her mother. > > Rhamat Alhassan was 13 years old and about to grow up in a hurry the way no > kid ever wants to mature. > > It would be three days later before her mother gave her the news. She had a > feeling. So many people coming to the house, speaking in whispers. > > Her father, who had returned to his native Ghana on business, had passed > away. A stomach ulcer. To this day she feels if he was back in the United > States he’d still be with her, proudly beaming in the stands as she dominated > the net. > > But he’s gone. > > “I’d love my dad to be able to see me doing this,” she said. > > Alhassan has become one of college volleyball’s best players, an All-American > and three-time All-SEC honoree. She’ll be in the mix, says UF coach Mary > Wise, for national player of the year in this, her senior year. > > Her journey has been an improbable one punctuated by the pain of losing her > dad at such a young age. > > That forced her to take on a role that didn’t allow for lengthy grieving. Her > mom became the breadwinner and Alhassan became the mom. She paid the bills, > looked out for her sister Musha and took care of the little things around the > house in suburban Washington, D.C. > > Oh, and she switched sports. > > The 6-foot-4 Alhassan was a basketball player until a friend talked her into > volleyball. Word spread quickly that there was a young girl with a wingspan > to die for who had the potential to be something special. > > When Wise asked an assistant who was out scouting about Alhassan she was told > in no uncertain terms, “She’s awful. But she’s going to be great.” > > “Great” didn’t come right away. > > “I was horrible,” Alhassan said. “Horrible doesn’t describe how bad I was. > > After the first year of club (volleyball), I knew I could do more. > > “I like to be good at things.” > > But this wasn’t a young lady with the luxury of having parents driving her > from match to match or making sure she had orange slices. She took public > transportation to get where she had to go for practices. > > Still, she blossomed. The big volleyball programs were all over her. Wise won > the battle. > > What she got was more than a budding star. > > “When that talented a player is the team role model, that’s a coach’s dream,” > Wise said. > > Her teammates call Alhassan “grandma”. Last year on the team bus, she was > teaching the freshmen how to knit. The experiences she dealt with as a young > girl coping with having a single parent have put Alhassan in a different > place. > > “She’s an old soul,” Wise said. > > Not that she asked to be. > > “I had to learn how to do everything myself,” Alhassan said, “I was always > very independent. > > “I think about small things. ’Oh, I’m doing this. I would have done this with > my dad. Like WWE (wrestling). We used to watch it all the time. Just memories > like that.” > > Each year has brought a different level of improvement on the volleyball > court. Because she started the sport so late in life (10th grade), there were > no bad habits to overcome. > > “She’s a great learner and she’s so driven,” Wise said. > > On Friday night, she will play in the first match of her final season at > Florida. The Gators finally get into the new arena after a year of playing > games in the Lemerand Center and nobody is looking forward to it more than > the athlete in the middle with her long arms, high volleyball IQ and > infectious personality. > > “I can’t believe this is my last preseason ever,” Alhassan said. “I feel like > I just got here as a freshman. I didn’t see this coming.” > > Who could have? Who could see this road? > > Who could see her becoming one of the game’s top players? Who could see her > guiding her sister through the recruiting process last year (Musha is now on > the Hartford basketball team)? > > Who could have expected such greatness? > > Perhaps, well, her father did. > > Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at [email protected]. And follow > at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent From Shane's iPhone > Go Gators! & Skål Vikes! > ALPCA #8756 > Europlate #1045 > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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