1994-95 GIRLS’ BASKETBALL / SMALL SCHOOLS : Traveling Dane Still Hasn’t Readjusted to Life in U.S.

St. Margaret’s Kelly Dane is American, but she is having a little difficulty readjusting to life in the United States. After living in Belgium for nine years, Dane returned to the States last year and is suffering from a bit of culture shock.

“It’s strange to be back,” Dane said. “School is the same everywhere, there are cliques and everyone is trying to follow their niche. So I’m still having a tough time getting back into things.”

Born in Connecticut and raised in Chicago until she was 7, Dane, now 17, moved to Belgium with her family when her father was sent there for work. The family didn’t return to the United States until August, 1993, when the Danes moved to San Juan Capistrano.

“It was difficult to leave Belgium,” Dane said. “But a lot of the people were there because their parents were working, so friends were always coming in and out of my life. I had a lot of constant friends and was always meeting new people. My first few days of school back here I came home upset, because in one day I had met almost everyone in the school.”

From the second grade through the end of her sophomore year, Dane attended the International School of Brussels, where she was introduced to basketball.

Dane, who had never played organized basketball, met Coach Ron Parham when she was a freshman, and he decided to give her a chance with the team. Parham, who has two sons trying to obtain basketball scholarships, used his knowledge of the game to improve the girls on his team.

After playing two years in Brussels and one season so far in California, Dane, 5 feet 10, thinks high school basketball is the same everywhere, except for a few minor details.

Two differences, Dane said, are the intense workouts she had under Parham and the college-sized playbook they had to learn.

“I don’t think many high school teams here have playbooks. We had a huge playbook, it was unbelievable,” Dane said. “And if someone didn’t know one of the plays, the whole team had to run.”

The workouts consisted of weight training three days a week, with each player having their own personal program. After training they had a half-hour of heavy conditioning and then on to a routine practice.

“We had to match up against some big girls. I mean big, with a lot of meat,” Dane said. “Most of the games were against military schools and these girls were good.”

One difference that Dane misses is the trips. Because they played schools from all over Europe, the teams had to travel five to six hours for games, so the teams would play on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, with the girls staying in the homes of opposing players or in the barracks on military bases.

“It was really neat. You got to spend a lot more time with your teammates,” Dane said. “We were like a family. Here, it is just short bus trips and quick meals. It is sad we don’t have more time together.

“One night we had a whole barracks to ourselves. After the game we came back and had a huge water balloon fight. It was a blast. It was things like that that brought our team closer together.”

Dane is looking forward to this season and thinks her team will be successful. Starting at forward, Dane is off to a fast start, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in St. Margaret’s opening victory over North Hollywood Buckley.