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Nashaway Valley Examiner

Thursday July 7, 2011

SPORTS LOCAL

Regina Francis Makes Star Turn for Summer Clinic

By Hampton Roberts Sr.

It’s been four years since Regina Francis made waves with Kathryn McCrae as part of the dynamic female duo that brought Prudence Academy’s varsity basketball team to the cusp of a state tournament berth. In those four years, Francis has packed in a lifetime of experiences. She now has as many professional seasons in Italy’s top division, or Serie A, and one EuroLeague campaign under her belt. First as a role player for regional powerhouse Brescia, and now as the emerging offensive focal point for smaller but up and coming Campobasso.

The local girl made good is back in town to host her first basketball clinic for boys and girls ages seven through twelve. She designed the mini-camp to emphasize team play and cooperation. The clinic will run next Monday through Friday in Worcester, but Francis arrived at the end of June to start her preparations. “It feels great to be back,” she said. “So much has changed, here and [for] myself, but it still feels very welcoming.”

According to Francis, it didn’t take long for her and her game to feel welcome in Italy either. “When I moved over [there] I met the sporting director for Brescia, who speaks six or seven different languages. So, I didn’t think much of it until I started practicing with the team. All the on the court stuff was easy. I’d been playing my whole life. You could literally point out where you needed me and I’d get the job done. Other than that, I really couldn’t communicate well until the end of my first year or so.”

Life off the court as a teenager working in a foreign country proved somewhat trickier than mastering zone defenses. “It was our assistant coach who took me under her wing. Her English was worse than my Italian! But she made sure I knew how to get around town. How to get groceries. She had a daughter a little younger than me and we’re still really good friends. Here, it would be considered a little weird to get so close to your coach, but nobody really held it against me. I think the [Italian] players and other European players knew I was on my own and needed a sort of family around me. I couldn’t just go to practice and then hideaway in a small apartment for the rest of the day.”

In time, coming to terms with her growing popularity became its own challenge. For most college aged Americans, the infamous freshman fifteen is always looming. Francis, on the other hand, was worried that she’d never be able to run off all the carbs her growing number of fans loaded onto her. “The people [in Brescia] were so great. Everyone, other players, trainers, people who worked for our front office, they were always inviting me to this or that nonna’s house for dinner. There’s just no turning down homemade pasta. Not for me. You clear your plate.”

Even her busy social calendar didn’t slow her steady progression from an untried rookie into a savvy veteran player. “Monday morning practices were rough. I’m not going to lie to you. On the back of those huge Sunday night dinners. Like everything when you go pro, you learn, you teach yourself to gut it out.”

Francis is looking forward to sharing that and other lessons she’s gleaned from her time in Italy with her campers next week. “That’s what this [clinic] is really all about for me. I want to give the local youth coming up some skills and some fun, maybe a few stories, that will help them grow their game and motivate them to continue with the sport and get it to the next level.”