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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
AMANDA Haritatos is more than just a cheerleader.
She has become a part of the Harare International School U20 basketball team.
Besides her unrivalled love for the hoops, she is also representing parents when she accompanies the team to Mozambique for the Schools Association of Southern and Eastern Africa basketball tournament last month.
She does everything to make the kids feel confident.
Her own son Damian is part of the team.
And at 15, he is the youngest out of the lot.
Sheer brilliance carries the HIS team over the line and they are crowned the champions.
Amanda and the rest of the team are over the moon. Even the school sports director Todd Meyer gives her a special mention.
She deserves all the appreciation.
Thanks to her son’s determination.
Damian has defied the odds. Completely.
He couldn’t have made the team for the Mozambican tour in the first place.
This is a boy who has endured a lot in his young life. A hereditary knee abnormality means he had to be operated on.
Not once, not twice but thrice.
But he still recovers and puts in the work to make the school team.
Not just in basketball but in volleyball as well. He was part of the HIS U16 volleyball team that also won gold in Ethiopia during the same competition last year.
“Damian has worked so hard to be a part of both the HIS basketball and volleyball teams and there are no words to express how proud I am of him. I know he will do amazing things in this life and I feel truly blessed to be his mother. He hasn’t let the surgeries determine his path,” said Amanda
“I’ve watched these HIS boys and seen their hard work and dedication first hand. Individually they have incredible strength and talent and watching them grow as a team and working together, communicating and respecting each other has been the foundation of their success. And for Damian to fit into both the volleyball and basketball teams is testimony he is good enough.”
Damian himself knows it could be close to impossible for him to play both sports with the delicate operations. “I have endured some big challenges in my sporting journey with the three double knee surgeries top of the list. I had to go for the procedures because of a hereditary knee abnormality. But, instead of pressing me down, the challenge has also given me great strength and courage. I haven’t let it stop me from pursuing my dream and my love for sport,” said Damian.
“I am the youngest on both the U20s Junior Varsity Volleyball and basketball teams at HIS and I feel honoured to be on the winning teams of both the ISSEA volleyball tournament hosted in Ethiopia and the ISSEA basketball tournament hosted in Mozambique.
“I have been lucky enough to be mentored by some of the best volleyball and basketball players and coaches that I believe our country has.”
Damian says he was inspired by his father Vangelis Haritatos who is the Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to play sport.
“My father was an athlete when he attended Jameson High School in Kadoma. He played soccer, cricket, swimming, squash, athletics and he was the captain for cricket and soccer teams. When he attended HIS, he also played volleyball, athletics and soccer, being the captain for the HIS soccer team.
He said he is able to balance both sports and his academics very well.
“Academics is very important to me and my family, so I make sure that I have a balance between my training and my school work. Having a healthy lifestyle and exercise routine is critical to being academically successful. While I get knowledge from academics, sport teaches me respect, skill, persistence, team work, hard work and acceptance of not only success, but failure as well.
“Both my parents fully and whole heartedly support me. My mom (Amanda) has been my pillar of strength and religiously attends every single game. My mom has become a motherly figure to our entire team and is known as the Team Mom. She makes me want to play my best because of all the support and love she gives us.”
Deputy Minister Haritatos is a proud father too due to his son’s successes.
“I am extremely proud of my son for his sporting success. He is a mature, hardworking, and kind-hearted young man. When I have watched him play, he is always respectful of his fellow team players and shows a great amount of sportsmanship to opponents. He is a team player and also encourages his fellow team mates throughout,” he said.
“He has turned out to be a fine young gentleman, and I have no doubt that he will continue to grow from strength to strength in whatever he does.
“He has the heart of his grandfather and grandmother and is not shy to work hard towards a goal.”
Online Reporter