Emma Vendittelli Harold Biggar Award recipient
You won’t hear Emma Vendittelli’s coaches arguing with the choice of naming her the winner of the Harold Biggar Award as the best high school girls basketball player in Niagara Falls.
A.N. Myer head coach Kate Harpur was effusive in her praise of her team’s MVP.
“She is a tenacious player and always gives 110 per cent on the court. She did an excellent job playing in a position that she doesn’t normally play as our team was often out-sized by our opponents,” she said. “She often matched up against the other teams strongest players and shut them down with her athletic and defensive abilities.”
Niagara Juel coach Si Khounviseth couldn’t say enough nice things about the Grade 11 player who was selected to play in the Juel all-star game.
“The coaches and I are happy for her and proud of her accomplishment being named high school player of the year. It is well-earned and deserved. Em works hard, competes and is very coachable,” he said. “She has the talent and work ethic to excel at the next level. She is a great teammate and leader. We know she will work hard this summer and train to become a better player. We expect her to continue to grow both as a player on and off the court. She is the type of character player every coach loves to have on the team. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to coach her and help her achieve her athletic goals.”
Vendittelli started playing basketball when she was eight in the Niagara Falls Red Raiders instructional league and by Grade 4 she was playing with Grade 6s in house league. When she was 12, she started playing travel ball with the Red Raiders before moving over to the Niagara Girls Basketball Academy. She played Juel Prep in Grade 9 with NGBA, Juel Prep with Niagara in Grade 10 and this past season she suited up for Niagara Juel.
Her game has evolved plenty in the last few seasons.
“I have gained a lot more confidence. I was really shy playing basketball for a very long time and I feel like I have come out of my comfort zone, gotten into the game and tried my hardest.”
The added confidence has been crucial to her development.
“It’s very important because you have to go out and give it your all. You can’t be shy and sensitive playing this game because it is a physical sport,” the 17-year-old said. “Being confident is being strong, being able to ball handle and go to the basket with confidence. It’s all about that.”
The light came on for her when she joined the Niagara Juel Prep squad in Grade 10.
“We didn’t have the strongest team. Coming from pretty big team at NGBA to Niagara Prep there was a bit of a difference and I took what I learned from NGBA and tried to do that with Juel Prep in Grade 10. That really boosted my confidence and I tried to get everyone else going with it.”
She has enjoyed her time with the Niagara Juel squad.
“Si is a very good coach and there was a lot of training. He pushes our team to the hardest abilities.”
Her highpoint for the 2023-24 season were: making it to the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AAA final with Myer before losing to Westdale; winning the Niagara College basketball tournament with Myer; being named to the Top 20 team at the Niagara all-star games; and, more recently, getting to suit up in the Juel all-star game a week ago.
“It was really, really fun. It was the best players from the regions and there were a lot of good players there.”
Vendittelli knows she is not yet a finished product and is continually striving to improve.
“I want to get a lot better at ballhandling. I am a point guard so I have practise that more. I am doing a lot of summer training to prepare for my senior season and Juel.”
