Sisters Kayley and Sarah Ericson starring in Wildcats’ backcourt
NORWICH - The children of Kevin Ericson and Kate Giardi Ericson weren’t forced to play sports and love the game of basketball in particular while they were growing up in Franklin.
They didn’t have to be pushed. It was intertwined in their DNA.
During the decorated history of NFA girls’ basketball (6 state titles, numerous ECC crowns), few families have left more of an impression than the Giardi and Ericson clans. Paul Giardi was a long-time coach who retired in 1992, the year he coached among others, his daughter, Kate.
Kate, now Kate Giardi Ericson, and her father are Norwich Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Today, the Giardi-Ericson family tree adds another chapter as senior Kayley Ericson and freshman Sarah form a rare sister-sister starting backcourt for NFA.
“We’re very aware of the family history,” said Kaylee, a starter since earning a spot late in her freshman season. “I think it’s cool my grandpa was a coach, and a coach of my Mom. We get a lecture after every game from our father, grandfather and sometimes mom. Basketball is a link that keeps us closer.”
Their mom (NFA Class of ‘92) earned 10 letters in soccer, basketball and softball, later playing Division I softball at Boston College.
Mom didn’t play with her sister but she experienced the rarity of playing for her Dad.
“It was a fantastic experience,” Kate said. “My Dad was a tough coach but he was always teaching and had the goal of making you better. I didn’t feel like a daughter out there. He had expectations for all of his players and wanted us to play as a team.”
This season, the grandparents, parents and Ericson sisters form three generations of basketball lineage at NFA girls’ games. Connections abound. NFA’s current coach, Bill Scarlata, was Giardi’s assistant coach and heir apparent.
Everywhere the Ericson’s turn, they have coaching. Their father, who played baseball in the Cape Cod League and for Springfield College, was their Franklin Elementary School coach.
“It’s cool to have such a family history,” Sarah said. “There is an expectation to do your best, practice well and play hard. You want to keep the tradition going.”
Family connections haven’t always paved a smooth ride. Kate had to prove she deserved playing time on her own merits and not by entitlement. Earning respect from teammates usually was a short process, Paul said.
“Kate had good size and athleticism,” Paul said. “She was an outstanding athlete who went on to set softball records at Boston College.”
Kayley, who stands 5-4, envies her Mom’s 5-foot-8 size, but she has carved out her own athletic niche as a veteran point guard, All-State volleyball player and lacrosse player.
“I can only imagine having my Mom’s height,” Kaylee said. “At my size I figured I was going to have to make it as a passer, ball-handler and leader.”
Scarlata calls the older Ericson the type of player that offers more value than statistics reveal. He credits her with helping getting the ball into the hands of last year’s shooting guard tandem of Mackenzie Burke and Hailey Conley, who are both playing now with Division II college teams at Adelphi and Nova, respectively.
“Kayley is our leader,” Scarlata said. “She’s our only senior and is a calming influence as a pass-first point guard.”
Kayley hopes to play volleyball and basketball next season at a Division III program, possibly Hartwick (N.Y.) College. That will leave Sarah and a younger brother Paul to continue the family legacy.
While Kayley values an assist as much as a pass, Sarah, despite standing 5-foot-2 and looking baby-faced, is not shy about launching a 3-pointer. She made two treys apiece in NFA’s wins against Fitch and Woodstock Academy this past week.
“She has that high arch because she’s a midget,” Scarlata said. “Seriously, she may look young and get tossed around at times, but she’s tough and doesn’t back off.”
It became apparent early that Sarah wasn’t the shy, retiring type. Kayley said she knew early that Sarah had a shooting gift and was a future 1,000-point scorer in waiting. When Kayley was an 8th grade captain at Franklin School, Sarah stepped in as a fifth grader in her first year and led the team in scoring.
It wasn’t always one big happy family on the court.
“There were times when they bickered back and forth like sisters, saying things like ‘stop bossing me around;” Kate said. “Their Dad was coach and had to remind them they were teammates first and these arguments had to end.”
The sisters thought that experience playing together in Franklin might be their last since Kaylee is a three years older. At a huge school like NFA, freshmen usually need to wait their turn to start varsity.
But, ironically, at this giant ECC school, Kaylee is the team’s only senior.
“I recall I played with six or seven seniors who came up together and were all friends,” Kate said. “Kayley doesn’t have anyone in her class to bounce feelings off of like what they’re feeling about senior year or what they’re thinking about going to college next year. She misses that.”
On the bright side, the lack of seniors allows freshman like Sarah and also Janessa Varella, who starts in NFA’s three-guard rotation, to earn starting time.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity to play with my sister,” Sarah said. “We joke around about bossing each other around on the court, but it’s an awesome feeling to be out there with someone I’ve shot around with and lived with my whole life.”
The family athletic tree actually extends back to the 1930s when Henry Giardi, Paul’s Dad, was a Hartford Public football standout who later played at Holy Cross and enjoyed a long and successful coaching career at East Hartford. Paul also coached football at Griswold while coaching NFA girls’ basketball. He and his Dad are Connecticut Sports Hall of Fame members.
Kate recalls talking to her grandfather about her games. Now grandpa Paul talks to Kayley and Sarah.
“When I look back at my high school career, it will be special to be able to say I played with my younger sister,” Kayley said. “It’s also special to listen to my grandpa’s stories about my Mom.”