SPOKANE, Wash. – It’s easy for anyone who regularly plays basketball to show up ready to ball out at Hoopfest. But what if you haven’t picked up a basketball in almost 30 years?
That’s one of the challenges facing Leslie Roszyk-Stephenson, who hasn’t played basketball competitively since she was in high school about 30 years ago.
Growing up, she would play in the driveway with her dad and sister, but after she graduated high school, she focused on different passions.
It wasn’t until she had a bad accident last year, when she was trying to avoid tripping on her dog, that she took a fall, tore her rotator cuff and labrum, and after she had surgery, she realized this low point would be the reason why she did something against all odds.
This is the reason why she started training with a coach at the age of 47 and why she will play in Hoopfest for the first time before she turns 50.
“We rehabbed, I went to practice, stretched every day, did everything I was supposed to do,” said Roszyk-Stephenson. “Because now I have a goal and a mission, and I want to be in Hoopfest, just to show that I can do it…”
Unfortunately, she’s not at a place in her recovery and training yet for Hoopfest this year, but she’s planning on going this weekend to scope out her competition as she prepares to take the court next June. She’s hoping that her hard work can inspire others in this community to do whatever it is they want to do but don’t think is possible.
