Sophie’s choice: The girl loves basketball

Hewlett resident on 14U United World Games team

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Although short in stature and young in age, Hewlett resident, Sophie Riegel, 13, stands tall and smart being the “coach on the court” in basketball parlance as the point guard for her teams.
The 4-10 seventh-grader at Solomon Schechter in Jericho and a member of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Fundamental Sports Training (FST) basketball teams, Riegel is part of the 14U squad that will travel to Klagenfurt, Austria and take part in the United World Games June 19-22, where more than 5,000 athletes from over 30 countries will compete in eight sports.
Riegel is not just the only Five Towns resident on the FST team, but she is also the youngest, smallest, and indeed one of the most powerful players. “Sophie was selected because of a combination of her skill and her emotional and physical strength,” her mother Deborah Riegel, said. “She is fun, nice and a team player. She is also someone you want on your team and someone you want to travel around the world with.”
Introduced to hoops by her great uncle, Paul Stessel, the recently retired longtime basketball coach at Pierce Day Camp in Roslyn. Riegel, who excels in math views the court as an equation to be solved. “I’m short but I prove myself and can still rebound over those big girls,” she said. “I love basketball because you are part of a team, and I like sharing the experience win or lose.”
She watches women’s college basketball more than the WNBA, the women’s professional league. Her favorite team is the University of Connecticut (this year’s NCAA champion in both men’s and women’s hoops) and her favorite players are Maya Moore, a UConn alumna, of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, and Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, who played at Baylor University.
Riegel is the only player on the squad who has traveled abroad and experienced long flights and the accompanying jet lag. She will help her teammates adjust after arriving in Klagenfurt. Riegel has traveled with her family to China, Japan, England and Mexico.
The FST team traveling to Austria also has to raise money for the trip. “Being on this team isn’t just about showing up and playing and representing the United States, there is also a fundraising responsibility,” Riegel said.

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