You’ve seen her for a few years.
But this might be the first time you hear from Emma Raif. And that’s by design.
Raif is a senior on the Frankford High School girls basketball team, and since joining the team as a sophomore, she has grown leaps and bounds. And when we’re talking about the 6-foot post player on the Pioneers, we’re talking about every way possible.
“Before high school, I wasn’t very athletic and my mom told me to start running,” said Raif, who lives in Frankford but is home schooled, so she’s allowed to play for her neighborhood squad. “I didn’t like it, but basketball sounded cool. I had no background, but I emailed the coach to see if I could try out. I went to a practice and was a little disappointed because it wasn’t just scoring, it was a lot of stuff. But I stayed with it and now I love it. I didn’t quit because once coach replied I said, ‘I guess we’re going to do this.’
“It was a little interesting. At first I was very shy and didn’t open up. But then I got used to the way coach joked and I became friends with the girls and found out I loved them. We became really close. I’m really close to this team. We spend time together, we’re friends and this season has been really good.”
We’re talking really good.
Led by coach Jonathan Michels, the Pioneers have opened the season strong. They are 11-1 and have a perfect 7-0 record in the Public League National Division. Another win will help them clinch the division.
Raif is more than doing her part, although it doesn’t always show up in the box score.
She’s capable of lighting up the scoreboard, but on this team that’s not her role. Instead, she clogs the paint on defense and makes sure to pull down rebounds. She’s also worked hard to develop as a passer.
Raif also goes outside her comfort zone to help the Pioneers. Her typically shy personality blossoms on the court when she confidently calls out plays and helps her teammates know what’s going on around them. That’s been a work in progress, but she’s come a long way from the girl who walked into the gym two years ago.
“I would think my biggest thing is to rebound and to make good passes so our point guards can get it to our wings,” Raif said. “That’s how we get buckets. I don’t score a lot of points, but I rebound and I also talk. That just started this year. When we call out plays I’ll yell it out loud. It’s a lot different this year. I’ll just yell, ‘Hey, screen,’ or, ‘Backdoor.’ And I keep the energy up, that is part of my job. It’s been fun. I wish I could shoot and make more baskets, and I’m working on it, but the team is doing well at that and I can help out in my own way and help out how they need me to help out.
“I’m a lot better than day one but it’s hard to see your own progress. I’ve gotten better because the game has slowed down so I’m not confused in the game, and I’ve had great coaching and a lot of help. I’m very hard on myself so it’s still hard because I want to do better, but the team is doing well and that’s the most important thing.”
Raif is not only doing well on the court, she’s doing a fine job off of it.
The homeschooled student completed most of her courses during her first three years of high school and she’s currently finishing up her senior year while also taking college courses at Community College of Philadelphia. If that’s not enough, she also plays the violin with the Temple Community Orchestra and also works at Chick-fil-A, where she does everything from keeping the restaurant clean to making the secret-recipe lemonade.
After this year, she hopes to go to college. She’s leaning toward going to college in Florida, but she’s also considering attending a school in the area. If she does, she would like to walk on to a basketball team and see if she can continue her career.
She eventually wants to be a teacher and, as someone who knows what a good coach can mean, she would like to mentor basketball players from the bench.
“I think I have natural ability to do it, and even though I didn’t go to public schools, I’ve seen how important (teachers) are,” she said. “I’m on a running club at Frankford and the teachers are amazing teachers and friends. I really enjoyed seeing them interact and help the students. I see them teach kids to study and have success. I think that’s neat.
“And I think coaching would be fun. I really enjoy learning from Coach (Michels). He is firm with us, but he also shows us the reason why he’s firm with us. It’s because he cares. He encourages us and tells us he thinks we can do it. I feel like it’s been fun learning from him how to coach and practical things on how to think like a coach. He’ll talk to me. It’s fun learning from him.”
Frankford is great, but there’s no place like home.
Coming from a big family with six siblings (Sophia and Katherine, Emma, Alex, Joanna and Lydia), she credits them for being her rock. Just about every day starts with the family praying together, and whenever one needs help, they’re all there.
“It’s harder as people go to work early but as much as we can, we start the day by reading the Bible to keep us on the right track every day,” Raif said. “I feel like it’s been really neat and different. We are all growing up, one sister is in college, another working fulltime, it’s something we all share. We have so many different interests, but that’s fun time together doing something we believe in and love.
“My whole family is supportive. My brother Alex is my sports buddy, he runs with me. But we all are close. My family is very important to me. And the basketball team is like my second family.”
