Mangapora has loathing for losing

June 24, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

“There is no I in team” is a popular sports slogan which emphasizes the notion that great individual players should constrain, to some degree, their talent in order to make the team stronger.

But a truly great player can follow that maxim and still shine — very brightly in the case of Sabrina Mangapora. The Canfield volleyball and basketball star shone so brightly that she has been chosen the Vindicator Female Athlete of the Year for the 2012-13 school year.

Concepts centered on the team aspect of sports — a strong desire to win and a hatred of losing — are what drove Mangapora to become a great individual athlete.

“I was always really competitive ever since I was young,” she said. “I think that helped make me stand out on different teams I’ve been on just because I always wanted to win and I hate losing.

“I realized at a young age that I really loved playing sports. That kind of love for all the games I used to play made me want to keep getting better and better. I think that helped me really evolve, especially in high school.”

Mangapora evolved to the point where she earned a volleyball scholarship to Ball State and was named district player of the year in Division II this school year in both volleyball and basketball, the second straight year in which she was so honored in the latter sport. She also has earned all-state recognition in both sports in addition to other individual honors.

Teamwise, she helped Canfield to district championships in both sports the last two school years — including a regional championship appearance in both sports during her senior year.

And those team accomplishments are what she mentions when asked about her favorite athletic memories at Canfield.

“Definitely all the district championships,” she said. “This past year basketball and volleyball, and last year basketball and volleyball. Especially last year’s basketball district championship against West Branch with the buzzer beater, 42-40. I’ll never forget that; it was awesome.”

And it isn’t just athletic venues in which she has had success.

“Sabrina was a model for the kids in our program. She did very well in the classroom, 3.98 or something crazy like that. I think she got one B in her whole career,” Canfield girls basketball coach Pat Pavlansky said. “She managed herself and her time extremely well with the multiple sports and the academic load that she took.

“She is also a great sister for her brother who is a freshman in high school this year and to her baby sister who is going to be a sixth-grader in our program. Sabrina is a wonderful young lady who has set a pretty high bar for our kids to follow.”

Mangapora faced what would seem to be a difficult decision, whether to play basketball or volleyball when it came to college.

“I wanted to hold on to both of them as long as I could. It was very hard for me to make a decision. It really came down to which one was more fun for me to play and that was volleyball,” she said. “I think it also had to do with starting it a lot later in life, sixth grade compared to maybe 5 years old. I think that had a lot to do with it. It [volleyball] was still interesting to me and I had a lot to explore about it.”

Mangapora said she made the decision to attend Ball State — where she will major in pre-med — after she started visiting schools in the summer after her junior year. It will be interesting to see how much better she can get concentrating her efforts on just one sport.

“I think I will like it since I get to pour all of my energy into one thing now, but I know I’ll still be playing basketball somewhere,” she said.

And whether she’s on the Ball State volleyball court competing against top-level competition or on a basketball court playing with family and friends, it’s a given that she won’t tolerate losing.