Allow me to set the scene for you: The year is 2012 in the month of January, I'm a senior in high school and I am playing in a basketball tournament held in Richmond, VA with my church team. It's a Sunday afternoon and we are playing in the championship game against a very talented group of guys from just outside Washington DC. Sporting a pair of black Jordan Retro 6 "Pistons" and my royal blue uniform, I took to the court with my four teammates that afternoon in a church gymnasium filled with parents, friends, opponents, priests and an occasional charter bus operator (they often supported us more than the parents did). Everyone anxiously awaiting to see who would return home with the trophy on that Sunday evening.
The game was tight throughout its two 12 minute halves with numerous lead changes and valiant effort from both sides. Truly one for the (Greek Orthodox Youth of America Metropolis of New Jersey; South Eastern Region, Boys Varsity Division) books. Both teams were very equal in talent and skill level, with the exception of on lengthy, spikey haired blonde shooting guard on the opposing team. Now, I mean this with no disrespect to the other four players; but that game was undoubtedly five Vs one. Our five guys versus the lengthy, spikey haired blonde shooting guard alone.
This young man was a astonishing. Also a senior that year, he was consistently one of the best players in every tournament in which we saw him. The particular event in which this story occurs is no different. The game was a constant display of back-and-forth competition and this kid had an answer for whatever we threw at him, offensively and defensively. He could do it all. To make a long story longer, time is winding down and we are up 2 points, as my teammates and I head towards our first (Greek Orthodox Youth of America Metropolis of New Jersey; South Eastern Region, Boys Varsity Division) championship. All we needed to do was just (and I cannot stress this enough) hold the ball until time ran out. Well, with less than a minute of game play left, a kid on my team (whom I haven't spoken to since that day) did just the opposite of hold the ball until time ran out... A series of unfortunates events later and we lose the game. I watched from across the court as the lengthy, spikey haired blonde shooting guard hoisted up the championship trophy, along with his rightfully deserved tournament MVP medal. I was crushed.. (oh, the woes of youth).
In the years to follow, whenever my PAREA and I would gather and reflect on our time playing basketball for the church league, that championship loss was alway brought up. It was inevitable for someone to express their distaste for the lengthy, spikey haired blonde shooting guard who single-handedly gave it to us on that Sunday afternoon. To us, he was the reason why we never won a championship, when in reality, we should've redirected all of our animosity to our teammate who didn't hold the ball until time ran out. I now know how Lebron James feels towards J.R. Smith..
Fast forward to Spring time 2018. I'm at a family wedding in Charlottesville, VA. During the reception, I notice a very well put-together young man sitting across from me at my table, whom in no way looked familiar to me in the slightest. A complete stranger. After working the room for a bit, saying hello to various friends and family members, I returned to my seat to find that well put-together young man talking to a mutual friend in the seat next to me. After casually introducing myself to this gentlemen and some light small talk, he asks me "You use to play on the Norfolk GOYA team, right? With 'this person' and 'that person'?". I confirmed his assumptions before he excitingly tells me "I played for Saint Katherine's in Falls Church! We played against you guys in the 2012 championship game in Richmond! Wow, what a great game that was!"
You guessed it. This very polite and well put together young man turned out to be the lengthy, spikey haired blonde shooting guard who single-handedly gave it to us on that Sunday afternoon 6 years prior.
After catching up with him for bit and talking about the good-ole days, our conversation made the outcome of losing the championship that year even harder to swallow; not only did Kosta Papastergiou single-handedly give it to us on that Sunday afternoon, he was now too nice for me to hate him in the slightest!
In the years that followed our mutual graduation of the church league, Kosta continued his love for the game by becoming a certified USA Basketball coach, and an absolute winning machine in the AAU circuit. Him and his team are gearing up to represent America in an overseas tournament held in Greece next season. Along with all of these accomplishments, Kosta has started his own training program: Koast To Koast Skills Academy, which is committed to bringing the children of all demographics in the D.C. metro area together to learn the game of basketball In Good Company. His knowledge and talent for the game is introducing and educating a whole new generation of children to the values of more than just basketball, but the game of life as well.
The culture and philosophies of basketball have always been a very integral beam in the foundation of PAREA (refer Issue No. 4 of The PAREA Post for a deeper understanding of such), so when Kosta approached us with the idea of coming together with his amazing foundation to create a special collection of Basketball apparel, it was a no-brainer for everyone involved.
One of our best to date, The Koast To Koast x PAREA Basketball Club collection delivers a line of high quality sports apparel that is encouraged to be worn In Good Company both on and off the court. The fabrics in which make up our products, and our collaboration with Koast to Koast are stitched together with tradition, progression, and respect. Thank you to Kosta and everyone at the Koast To Koast Skills Academy for bringing this incredible collaboration to life!
Shop the entire Koast To Koast x PAREA Basketball Club collection here.
-Tommy Kyrus, PAREA Founder
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