Saige Primavera isn’t afraid of hard work.
Primavera is a senior at St. Hubert High School, and as one of the better athletes in the city, she prides herself on being one of the starters for the Bambies basketball team.
Hubert plays in the Catholic League, and anyone who knows that league knows that some of the best basketball teams in the area, and even country, compete in that league.
Just about every team has at least a couple of Division I prospects and going up against that kind of talent every night can be hard when you’re a team competing with neighborhood players who are just out there because they love the game.
Some could look at that as a problem.
Primavera looks at it and sees opportunity.
“I’ve been playing basketball my whole life since I was 7, and I take it seriously, I take all sport seriously,” said Primavera, who lives in Torresdale and plays guard for the Bambies. “It’s great competition. It keeps you humble. It’s fun because just like in soccer, we have a very close team. We love it. We push ourselves. It’s tough because you don’t win a lot and you’re playing against really good players. But it’s fun because you push yourself and you can see how you do against the best. I love it.”
That love has caused Primavera to spend a lot of time away from home this summer and a lot of time working out.
On top of being a basketball player, Primavera’s main sport is soccer, where the Bambies are the defending Catholic League champions.
That means every team in the PCL will be deer hunting come September, but Primavera and her teammates plan on being ready to defend the crown.
“This summer, we’re in a summer league but a lot of us have a summer job, but I know for the people who aren’t there, we’ve been running a lot and staying in shape,” Primavera said. “They gave us a workout packet that all of us have been doing. I did play in the summer league, and everyone is working hard.”
While the Bambies did have plenty of skill last year, the championship was won during the offseason and after school every day on practice days.
That’s the same attitude they bring into this year.
“Last year meant everything because it was unexpected, not just for us but for all the team around us,” Primavera said. “We were the underdogs so it meant a lot proving people wrong. We knew we could be good because we put a lot of work in during preseason, we all worked our best because we knew this could be the year. After each game we came out ready to practice again. We stayed motivated.”
Nobody showed that motivation more than Primavera, who spent just about her entire summer preparing for her final year at Hubert.
“Usually Mondays is basketball, same as Wednesday,” Primavera said of her summer schedule. “Then we had soccer games on Tuesday and Thursday. And then when I wasn’t playing games, I would have open gym for basketball. So all summer I was doing something. I like that.”
She’ll be playing sports beyond high school.
Her college choice is all picked out, and if you think she had a short trip to her high school, wait until you hear how close her college will be.
“I’m already committed to Holy Family and I’m going to play soccer there,” Primavera said. “I love the coach and the girls seem very nice. And I live down the street. I’m not sure what I want to major in but I’m thinking business. I feel like you can do a lot of things with a business degree.”
If not business, perhaps politics?
When she’s not leading her sports teams, Primavera is leading in the school where she is the student council president.
Running for office wasn’t easy, but getting started freshman year gave her experience.
“It’s definitely hard but after getting elected as a freshman, I knew I wanted to be president of the school,” Primavera said. “Doing this and playing two sports will be a lot, but I’ll make it work because I want to do everything. It was definitely my goal when I got president of freshman class. It means a lot to me because they do trust me with their future. I give speeches, people can come to me if they need anything, we do fundraisers. It’s a lot, but things I want to do.”
Primavera is really looking forward to this because it gives her a chance to help. That’s something she likes doing.
That’s a trait she gets from her family.
“My family is always there for me, we come from a big soccer family, and we all love it,” she said. “My dad and my pop was a soccer player and he still plays in an over-60 men’s league. He comes to every game he can get to. He knows soccer. My dad, too, he played for North and he’s the JV coach for Roman. That’s how I started playing, he pushes me to be better and it helps me a lot.” ••
