When you get knocked down, you just have to get right back up. That is the motto Alyssa Brady, a guard for the Cabrini women’s basketball team, has followed ever since she was 5 years old.
Brady started out playing co-ed basketball in kindergarten where she became very competitive and wouldn’t let anyone, including the boys she played, walk all over her.
Brady was a very active child, involved in softball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, diving and lacrosse. Being involved with all of those sports made her a very competitive person.
“I will do anything it takes to win. I take that attitude onto the court and will do whatever I can to get my team a win,” Brady said.
Brady lettered in varsity basketball all four years at Allentown Central Catholic High School for coach Mike Kopp, winning two state gold medals and one silver medal.
“I love playing a team sport because you always have someone else to pick you up if you are having an off day,” Brady said.
“Alyssa was a no-nonsense player; play the game as hard as you can, play it the right way and never be content just to play, you had to win. She was as tough a competitor that I have ever coached, and I have coached for 33 years,” Kopp said.
Brady has also played for the Lehigh Valley Lady Pitbulls team, where she has gained a lot of experience.
“Over the years, we have seen her frustrate her opponents to the point that she has been pushed, shoved and even thrown to the ground, all because the opponent could not perform as they were accustomed to performing. Many times, we were worried that she would get hurt, but she always has managed to get right back up, and just play the game,” Joe Brady, father, said.
While playing basketball for Cabrini, Brady was a part of the 2008 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championship team.
“Alyssa is a great teammate who works hard to not only make herself better but to make her team better,” teammate Kate Walck,junior psychology major, said.
“My personal goal on the court is to learn everyday from what I had done the game or practice before. I want to be the best player I can be and earn the respect of other teams. My team goal is to help lead my team to the 2009 Colonoial States Athletic Conference championship,” Brady said.
“She has great work ethic and is always trying everyday to be the best ‘Alyssa’ she can be. It is always easy to coach someone that has so much heart and is always putting their ‘all’ in everything they do,” Cabrini women’s basketball head coach Bernadette Laukaitis said.
“As we all know, everything will not go our way, but we have to get right back up, forget about what just happened and just play the game of life. I am sure that Alyssa will attack life just as she has attacked the game of basketball,” said Joe Brady.
