Danielle Cosgrove has been named as the Section XI Outstanding Winter Female Athlete. We recently started this honor and combine it with a chance for student-athletes to pen their thoughts about their careers and sport.

The following is a first-person narrative written by Sachem East senior Danielle Cosgrove … 

I would like to start by saying that it is a great honor to be named Section XI ‘s top female winter athlete of 2017-18. I can assure you it definitely did not come easy. My senior year at Sachem East was beyond what I could have ever imagined and with our challenges came huge rewards, but I could not be more thankful for all of the opportunities.

My journey as a Sachem student-athlete began way before the recognitions I was fortunate enough to receive over my four years. I still remember my seventh grade year when I was asked to play for the school’s junior varsity basketball team, terrified but excited I accepted the offer and worked to earn my way to a starting spot on the team.

That year was the last year our school went to compete for a state title that I was privileged enough to be part of as a call up to the varsity roster. Sadly we didn’t bring home any hardware but it was about much more than that for me. I had the opportunity to practice with and learn from girls that I had grown up watching and that alone was more than I could ask for.

The following season I was brought up to the varsity and eventually earned myself a starting position. Towards the end of the season during the playoffs, I was given the opportunity to help bring my team to the next round. As the clock was running down in a tie game against Copiague, I found myself with the ball in my hands, something I would come very accustomed to in later years, and from instinct took my shot and sunk it to win the game. I was on cloud nine for days after and to me, even though our season didn’t end in a championship, it was still a success.

From my freshman through junior years I had the privilege to play under the amazing coach Brent Lawrence, someone who had been in the program for a long time. We had gone to playoffs all three years and overall had very successful seasons including the opportunity to play in a county finals game as an eight seed against Commack. Everyone on the team loved coach Lawrence and we were all excited to come back for what would be my final season in a Sachem East uniform. But nothing ever goes as planned.

The Sachem Central School District as a whole suffered a very difficult loss during the summer of 2017 and due to that, each coaching staff was re-evaluated. We would soon learn that Coach Lawrence would not be coaching the team in my last year. That was something I never would have imagined hearing my senior year let alone in my high school career. Myself and my fellow seniors were devastated by the news but we stuck together and became even closer through the tough times. We would soon learn that our new coach for our senior season would be none other than coach Kristen Doherty, who had played girls basketball at Sachem East and is the most prolific player to ever come out of our school. To say the least, the team was ecstatic to hear the news of our new coach.

My senior year started off strong as we worked relentlessly to prepare for our first game, but again, nothing goes as planned. Early in December I would suffer a bad ankle injury and have to sit out for just about a month. In this time, I would learn so much about myself and my passion for the game I had loved for so long. I worked day in and day out to return to the court and play again. My first game back was incredible and I couldn’t have been happier to be back playing with my team.

We had had yet another great season making it to playoffs again. As the playoff brackets came out, we discovered that we would be an eight seed and play Walt Whitman at home in the first round. As the clock ticked away I would find myself in almost the exact same position I was in my eighth grade season. The game was tied, 4.1 seconds on the clock as I grabbed the ball at the three-point line. I looked at the clock one last time and fired. It felt like a scene in a movie, when I made my shot the gym when crazy as we had won the game. We would wind up losing our next game but by no means was that the defining moment of my senior season. Myself and my teammates had overcome so much during such a short amount of time that this season was more than we could have ever asked.

I owe a large portion of my success to the people who have helped me become the player I am today. I have been training with Jerry Powell and Pat Quinn for the past seven years, endlessly working on my game. The two of them and everyone in the gym with us have always been there to push me and make me better and I truly can say that they have made me into the player I am today.

Flash forward four months and I am getting ready to head off to The University of Notre Dame on a full basketball scholarship. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to play for such a legendary coaching staff and team who just won a national championship. I believe everything happens for a reason and so I could not be more excited for what my future holds at Notre Dame and I am forever grateful for everyone who has helped me get to where I am today.