"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or
even touched - they must be felt with the heart."
-Hellen Keller
It has always been about heart. Not the catch-phrase "heart" that is so often a cliché with athletes, but with Danielle Viglione, it has always come straight from the heart. Her biggest moments on the court all put aside - playing professionally for the Sacramento Monarchs, dropping 48 points in a game at the University of Texas, or leading the state in scoring while playing at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks - it's her trust in her core, her faith, and her heart that has molded her into one of the finest examples we have for youth across the Sacramento Valley. Both of my sons have been lucky to have Danielle involved in their lives and it's my hope that by writing this and spreading the word about one of the greatest female basketball players to ever come out of Sacramento that somehow, you and your kids will too.
Up in the air, on the flight to her new professional team in Turkey on October 19, 1999, Danielle got word of the devastating earthquake that had just taken place on the ground below. The Izmit earthquake had measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, and it wasn't until weeks later that the official toll was measured: 17,127 killed and over 45,000 injured. Tens of thousands of homes and buildings destroyed leaving hundreds of thousands of people to sleep in the streets, too afraid to sleep inside for fear of aftershocks toppling already weakened structures. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_%C4%B0zmit_earthquake) Upon landing in Turkey and seeing the widespread devastation, she was able to get in touch with her family who implored her to come home, but for some reason, her heart told her to stay and that Turkey was right where she should be. As the story goes, when life got back to basketball, it was Danielle, who, in her first game playing professionally in Europe, banked in the game winning shot from half court and was mobbed by her new teammates. From that point on, although a rookie and an American, she was the de facto team leader and an inspiration to the fans she played for.
The most singly satisfying experiences in her life range from little to big but always revolve around the relationships in her life and are almost never about what she accomplished as a player. When asked about those moments, her eyes light up when she describes kids she works with and the "thank you" texts she gets from parents of children ages eight to eighteen who she coaches and trains at Sacramento Skills Academy in Folsom. Where most coaches stop, Danielle always goes deeper. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the hour that I was fortunate to spend interviewing her, came when she told the story of a girl who had lost her father. At the time, Danielle, who had been training and instructing the girl at her Academy, got a text from the girl's mother letting her know what had happened. In turn, Danielle reached out to her student and found out that she had a varsity game for her high school that night. Guess who was sitting court-side that night? Danielle. Guess who comforted her student when she broke down in tears during the halftime break? Danielle. There are not a whole lot of people that I've met who would reach out to someone else in the face of such a giant loss, much less to actually do what she did. There are even fewer former professional athletes.
A few weeks ago, the list came out and Danielle's name was on it as a nominee for the 2015 Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame alongside the names of a number of other highly accomplished local athletes. Measured purely on merit, Danielle belongs in the Hall. Measured by what she has given back to our community and continues to give to kids throughout the Sacramento region, she belongs at the head of the class. Together, let's help give a local girl that extra push to get her over the top just as she does with our youth, every single day, right here in Folsom.
To vote Danielle for the 2015 Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame:
To learn more about where she has been and where she is now:
Best,
Mike
Michael M. Knittel
Director/Portfolio Manager
Lagunitas Asset Management
1024 Iron Point Road, Suite 100
Folsom, CA 95630
916.357.6656
Securities offered through J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. (JWC) Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Lagunitas Asset Management. Lagunitas Asset Management and JWC are unaffiliated entities.
1024 Iron Point Road, Suite 100
Folsom, CA 95630
916.357.6656
Securities offered through J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. (JWC) Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Lagunitas Asset Management. Lagunitas Asset Management and JWC are unaffiliated entities.
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