By Joe Palladino
It is quite a journey from North End Middle School to the Taft girls basketball team to Puerto Rico’s U-18 women’s national team, but that is the current trip for Waterbury’s Jalissa Rodriguez.
The Taft junior received an invitation from the Puerto Rico national team youth coach, Luis Morillo, to attend the U-18 tryouts in March. Rodriguez, 16, will travel to Puerto Rico during spring break week to show her stuff to the coach.
“He saw a couple of my tapes through YouTube,” Rodriguez said of how she was spotted by Morillo. “He liked my speed and the way that I see the court. I am very grateful that he reached out to my father for all this.”
The team competes in a summer tournament schedule. The youthful Rodriguez does not turn 17 until September of 2016. It is a great opportunity, and challenge.
“I will have to continue to work on my game to play against girls two years older than me,” she said. “The competition will be very tough, but even if I do not make the team, to play against girls that tough, and older, and more aggressive, will only make me a better player.”
Playing against older girls is what Rodriguez has done throughout her career. She has started at Taft for three seasons. The 5-5 point guard averages 11.6 ppg this season, and 4.6 assists for a Taft squad that is currently 1-4.
“We have a young team,” Rodriguez explained. “We lost a lot of starting seniors. We are young, but I think we can pick it up and possibly make it to the playoffs.”