She has been a four-year warrior for her school, and next season Chelsea Kouri will be a Warrior for Wayne State University of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The 5-foot-7-inch guard will trade in blue for green from now on under Gloria Bradley, coach of WSU.
Kouri put the deal in ink on Nov. 15 in front of family and teammates at the Clarkston High School media center.
‘I’m pretty excited just to get the pressure off,? Kouri said.
‘I know I’m going to play more, that’s good to know.?
Kouri, is leaning toward physical therapy, but keeping her options open to other sports-based fields.
Kouri’s mother Paula said WSU is a strong academic institution for her daughter no matter what field she goes into.
‘That’s the nice thing about Wayne State, it does give her so many different opportunities academically if she does change her mind there’s a lot of different things she can do there,? she said.
Other schools showed interest, but WSU put together the best offer after Kouri’s visits.
‘I really like the coach and I like all the girls. They work hard, but they also have fun,? Chelsea Kouri said.
‘I saw a few of their practices and I think I’ll enjoy it just because she’s not extremely hard on the girls and it’s not like a job there’you still have to concentrate on your academics as well.?
With the division II Warriors, Kouri will be part of a team trying to right the ship. WSU posted a 6-20 record in 2004-?05 and 10-17 record in 2005-?06.
Kouri has been a four-year member of the CHS varsity girls basketball team, coached by Tim Wasilk, for the past two seasons.
‘She’s become more of a complete player and taking care of the basketball and being more of a threat as a scorer and an all-around player. She’s really improved her game in all of the areas, including her leadership,? Wasilk said.
‘I think it’s a great situation for her. The GLIAC is a great conference and I think she’ll have a good career there and a lot of success and she can only bring good things to their program.?
Both Paula and John Kouri, Chelsea’s father, had memories of her tagging along with older sister Jill and being included at an earlier age than most kids.
‘They were so close, ‘I’m going to do whatever my big sister does.? With the talent and the interest she (Chelsea) had it was just natural for the two of them to hang out together. She was lucky she had a lot of people that let her join in young, younger than would have been allowed. A lot of people that included her all the way back to Tim McCormick,? Paula Kouri said.
Chelsea Kouri’s dedication to her craft was a pretty good sign good thing s would continue to come for her, Wasilk said.
‘Anytime you put that much time into something, you hope it’s going to pay off and she’s done that,? he said.
‘She’s been to the gym and she’s worked countless hours and when you do those kinds of things and put your heart into it, it pays off.?