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- [00:01]
Chantel Jennings
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- [04:43]
Kate Koval
This episode contains content some listeners may find upsetting. Take care while listening. It was an unseasonably warm winter's night in Glen Head, New York, as the Lehigh girls varsity team suited up for their home game. Red, white, black jerseys emblazoned with Nike logos, new sneakers on their feet, determination in their eyes. The opposing team, St. Joseph by the Sea, had come from Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens to Long Island's North Shore. The matchup was expected to be uneven, with Luhay favored, but anything could happen. As the teams warmed up, the head coach from Lu Hai approached the opposing head coach with an unusual proposition. One of her star players, number 13, was waiting for a very important phone call. If the phone rang during the game, they'd need to stop play. No matter what was happening, no matter who had the ball and call a timeout. Was he okay with this? The opposing coach paused and Considered the request, but given the situation, of course it was fine.
- [05:48]
Coach Christina Rady
Oh, yeah. Team kick. Come on.
- [05:53]
Chantel Jennings
First two points of the game.
- [05:57]
Kate Koval
The game started. The phone sat on the bench, silent. Number 13 ran the floor. Absolutely dominating. Here we go, Kate.
- [06:06]
Coach Christina Rady
Good shot. So at the end of the half.
- [06:18]
Kate Koval
By halftime, she'd racked up 16 points and 10 rebounds. All the while, the phone sat on the bench, the screen blank, the ringer dead silent.
- [06:32]
Coach Christina Rady
Sometimes I don't even hear what's going on during the game. It happens. You're just there in the moment and just play basketball. You just have fun. You know how you see little kids going to the gym and they have no idea what they're doing? Just trying to dribble a basketball and shoe. I don't know. This one makes me feel like I'm just there having fun playing basketball.
- [06:54]
Kate Koval
That night, Kate Covel was trying as hard as she could to shut out the rest of the world. Wearing number 13, she was the Luhai player having an incredible game and the one whose cell phone sat on the bench, a beacon ready to signal either hope or despair. As the second half started, the phone was still just a blank screen. The date was February 24, 2022. Kate's home country, Ukraine, had just been invaded by Russia, and she had no idea where her parents were from. The Athletic I'm Shantelle Jennings. Welcome to a special episode of the Athletic women's basketball show. I'm sure you've noticed we're doing things a little differently today. We're bringing you the story of Notre Dame freshman forward Kate Coval. She has been the reliable inside presence for the Fighting Irish this season. The team's leading shot blocker and a constant on the boards. With its depth, backcourt prowess and versatility, Notre Dame looks primed for a run at the national title. But it can't get there without Kate continuing to play beyond her years. And while every athlete has a journey, new homes, new strengths, new teams that become family, Kate's journey over the backdrop of the war in Ukraine has been more harrowing than most, rending her family apart in ways she could never have imagined and forcing Kate and all those around her to reconsider the true meaning of sacrifice for family and home. That's the story we're bringing you today. I do hope you'll stay with us.
- [08:58]
Coach Christina Rady
Coming from back home. American, like teenage movies always been like high school and stuff like Yellow School Bus. When I saw I was just like, am I in the movie? Because, like, the campers were just so unreal. It just gave, like American school, low key.
- [09:12]
Kate Koval
In early 2021, Kate Koval was back home in Kiev, Ukraine. At 15 years of age and standing 6 foot 2 inches tall, she was a star on her club teams even when she was playing against girls three years older. She had played on Ukraine's youth national team since she was 12 and traveled internationally to play a few times a year. But she was coming up against a limit.
- [09:33]
Coach Christina Rady
Me and my family kind of made a decision that, like my coaches back home gave me everything like they ever could. And I just need to move on and just go on a better level to become a better player. So that's how we looked at the United States.
- [09:48]
Kate Koval
That search brought Kate and her family to Long island, or at least pictures of Long island and the school affectionately referred to as Luhi Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School. It's a campus that looks like something out of a movie. Beige stuccoed buildings surrounded by old growth trees, tucked away behind million dollar homes. An overseas scout had sent clips of Kate to Lehigh head coach Christina Rady.
- [10:15]
Oleksandr Koval
And I watched about five seconds and was like, yes. And he was like, Christina, you've never said yes to a kid before. I'm like, never sent Kate before.
- [10:24]
Kate Koval
Later that week over Zoom, she pitched the school to the Koval family.
- [10:28]
Oleksandr Koval
I met her, I met her mother. Dad was actually like to the side of the screen, was asking questions and then mom would translate. There was a pretty instant connection.
- [10:39]
Coach Christina Rady
Coach Christina, in general, she just, we kind of had the same goal. She just started with being a head coach there, and she was kind of trying to build the program, so I felt like I would want to be a part of it.
- [10:50]
Kate Koval
The program at L High was good, but not yet great. Kate was the piece that could catapult LY onto the national stage As a perennial power.
- [10:59]
Oleksandr Koval
We were really looking to take that next step. And I was pretty transparent in that.
- [11:02]
Kate Koval
I thought it would take players like.
- [11:03]
Oleksandr Koval
Her, with her mentality and her idea of buying into this culture to make that next jump and consistently be a top five team in the country.
- [11:13]
Kate Koval
Over Zoom, Coach Kristina also touted Luhai's academic prowess. Yes, it was Kate's dream to play in the wnba, but if she left home and came to the States, this move wouldn't just be about basketball. It would also be about Kate's future beyond the court. Both of her parents had advanced degrees, and education was a top priority for the Koval family. So coach Christina mapped out a plan that would allow top college programs to scout Kate, meaning in a few Years, she could go just about anywhere she wanted, and from there, the sky would be the limit. Just a few months later, In August of 2021, Kate and her grandmother were on a plane from Kiev to New York City. Kate's mom, Natalia, was already in the States. She'd come over earlier in the summer to help Kate's younger brother settle into a similar high school hockey program in the Northeast. Natalia reunited with Kate and her grandmother in New York, where they all met up with Coach Christina for dinner at an Italian restaurant.
- [12:17]
Oleksandr Koval
You know, I think they were definitely nervous, obviously, leaving your young teenager with people you hadn't met. Kate, she was quiet at first, very quiet, you know, I think was kind of just taking it all in. And they walked out of the restaurant, and she kind of, like, grinned, and she was like, I'm ready for this. Don't worry. They're the ones who are nervous. And I was like, wow, okay. And she kind of hit the ground running, like, she became one of us pretty quickly.
- [12:45]
Coach Christina Rady
The team was just so welcoming, and the school was really, really small, so it's not a lot of people, so everybody knows you, so it made it easier.
- [12:53]
Kate Koval
I feel like adjusting to basketball was a different story. Even though Kate had played against older girls her entire life, the speed and physicality of the American game was different. The Lehigh coaches pushed Kate to her limit on the floor. Then she'd study game film with them after practice. She understood what she meant to this program and how a player with her potential could change the trajectory of Lehigh girls basketball. Over time, Kate adjusted, and she began to find her place in other ways, too.
- [13:28]
Coach Christina Rady
My first impression of her. First, I was scared because I have three sons.
- [13:33]
Kate Koval
I don't have girls. Island Blaise is not a woman who scares easily. She's five'two five'three max. But even at that height, she instantly commands respect, as I learned while chatting with her last summer at her kitchen table in Queens. After agreeing to be host mom to Kate, she didn't know what to expect. Until I met Kate.
- [13:55]
Coach Christina Rady
I said, hmm, I think maybe I can do it.
- [13:59]
Kate Koval
Ms. Blaise recognized some of herself in Kate. She's lived in queens for over 50 years, but she moved to the States herself, alone, at age 24, from her native Haiti. The two got close fast.
- [14:12]
Coach Christina Rady
Host family's the way to go, because that was like a real family for me, for real. The first week she come, we click. She's like the daughter that I didn't have. I always say I like to talk like I'm big into, like, Building relationship with people. I would just like come down and like sit with her by the tv, just in the living room. We both love to cook and they're just like small things. We bonded. Kate is a strong girl, very bright and intelligent kid. She knows who she is, she knows what she wants. She don't sit here and wait for you to babysit her. She babysit herself.
- [14:52]
Kate Koval
In those early days in New York, Kate was characteristically self sufficient. The trip from her home in Queens to Lehigh on Long island was roughly two hours and ran the gamut of public transportation. Kate would leave home around 6am Ms. Blaze would drop her off at the train station five minutes from their house. From there Kate would go on alone. She'd take a quick train to the Jamaica station and then usually wait half an hour or so until her train to Long island arrived. From there it'd be another half hour ride to the Hicksville station where Coach Christina would pick her up.
- [15:34]
Coach Christina Rady
So I thought I would like listen to music and just sit there. Some days I would do homework, especially on the way back home after practice I would do homework and call my family if I had a chance.
- [15:46]
Kate Koval
Kate's two brothers were already in the States. The younger one, like I mentioned, was playing high school hockey in a prep program while the older brother was in a graduate program at lsu. The city of Kiev, where Kate's parents lived in an apartment complex, was six or seven hours ahead of New York time, the perfect difference for Kate to catch her parents midday around lunchtime. They both worked in the family business, a medical testing company. Kate's dad, Oleksandr, ran things while her mom, Natalia was the company accountant. Kate and her parents would chat about normal stuff, what they'd been up to lately, how her grandparents were doing, how her cat Chivas, named after an alcoholic beverage, was faring without her. They wanted to know how Kate was getting used to life in the us how she was eating and of course how basketball was going. Her dad in particular wanted to make sure she wasn't spending time at discos. A joke that Kate knew wasn't quite a joke. She told them the team was doing great and she was finally adjusting to the American style of play. Most games she easily recorded a double double. In other words, everything was going really well. Things in Ukraine, on the other hand, were a different story. The country was in the news a lot at this moment in time. Russian troops had been massed at the Ukrainian border since late 2021. For those in the know, fears of a larger conflict were rampant and Then in the early morning hours of February 24, 2022, it all became a grim reality.
- [17:27]
Chantel Jennings
We begin tonight with Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest invasion of a neighboring country in Europe since World War II. Early this morning came the Russian version of shock and awe images. The a worried world is watching. Wrenching images of war, Russian military vehicles and tanks, rolling blasts were reported everywhere. Any future plans? Ukrainians had gone.
- [17:55]
Coach Christina Rady
It was definitely shocking to have like a full invasion. I did not expect it at all and I feel like my parents didn't either. But you can never say they were prepared, like nobody was prepared for it. And it's like not possible to prepare. One of the open salvos in Russia's war on Ukraine.
- [18:18]
Kate Koval
A missile strike on an airport in the west of the country.
- [18:21]
Chantel Jennings
Following the airstrikes came the land invasion with Russian tanks and troops advancing, trying.
- [18:27]
Kate Koval
To keep people calm, trying to keep people from panicking in what is. And there, there we go. I just heard the first siren has just come and I've been told by.
- [18:40]
Coach Christina Rady
City officials it happened five in the morning. Their time, which is was like 11:12 here. So I was asleep. So I just saw in the morning.
- [18:51]
Kate Koval
Kate was able to get in touch with her parents not long after the attack began. It was a quick FaceTime call with her mom. They were okay, but they were evacuating to the countryside to Kate's grandma's house.
- [19:03]
Chantel Jennings
This is a picture the Associated Press is showing us. This is the traffic leaving Kyiv now.
- [19:15]
Kate Koval
Meanwhile, Luhai had a game later that night. Coach Kristina and the rest of the staff were unsure what to do or how best to respond.
- [19:23]
Oleksandr Koval
I had reached out to mom, I did not hear back. I had reached out to grandma and I did not hear back. So we were heading into a game day, not really understanding what was in front of us or what we were looking at here.
- [19:38]
Kate Koval
Not only could Coach Christina not get ahold of Kate's parents, but now, hours since she had last spoke to them, Kate couldn't get ahold of them either. She had no idea if they had made it out of Kyiv safely. She tried to keep her mind from going to the worst possible place, but with everything she was seeing on the news and the silence on the other end of the phone, it was impossible not to consider it. And here's where we come full circle to that unseasonably warm winter game day. The cell phone on the bench. Kate, who was usually prompt, showed up late to pre game and she lingered in the parking lot before entering the.
- [20:18]
Oleksandr Koval
Gym and the Second we went over to her and put her arm around her. It was full on tears.
- [20:31]
Kate Koval
This was, again, another departure from the norm for the usually stoic Kate. She and Coach Christina left the gym and went to the cafeteria to have some privacy.
- [20:41]
Oleksandr Koval
We very directly said, you know, let's cancel today's game. I don't think we should be playing basketball. And she was angry at me. She was basically like, screw you. I'm playing. So we go back and forth. I said, that's fine. Let's do this. Leave your phone on the bench. I'll speak to the other coach. If the phone rings, we are picking that thing up. We're not missing a call from Mom.
- [21:10]
Kate Koval
On what was one of the hardest days of her life, Kate had one of the best games of her season. She scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, and Luhai won. But the real win that Kate was desperate for, that call from her parents, it never came. She still needed to know, were they safe? When Kate Koval thinks back on her childhood in Ukraine, what she remembers most is her grandmother's house outside of Kyiv.
- [21:48]
Coach Christina Rady
It's a big house. It's yellow, a big backyard. It has a pool in the back. You could literally go from our backyard into a forest, and there was, like, a little trail, a church in there.
- [21:59]
Kate Koval
Kate loved this little church, loved walking the forest path to get there. The pine and the poplars soaring overhead, the leaves crunching beneath her feet in those woods. And at Grandma's house, Kate spent a young life's worth of summers turning into falls, turning into winters, warming up by the fire, eating her grandmother's famous borscht.
- [22:20]
Coach Christina Rady
And, of course, Christmas will have to be my favorite time. The whole house is decorated. Everybody's there. So, like, every single room will have something Christmas related. I think my grandma just loves decorating. For every season, she had a big tree, obviously, in the living room, and she had a smaller tree downstairs. So I always wanted to decorate the tree, you know what I'm saying?
- [22:45]
Kate Koval
Downstairs in the basement, that perennial play space for kids everywhere. It was in her grandma's basement where Kate and her two brothers would hang out most, where they'd sneak away to check out their new toys as the parents played cards and drank. Upstairs, down in that basement, Kate couldn't bear the sight of that bare little tree, so she'd steal ornaments off the bigger one upstairs. That way it could be festive on both levels. It was all a part of the fun.
- [23:13]
Coach Christina Rady
And I would say my brightest memories there is just spending time with my family.
- [23:22]
Kate Koval
For the Kovels, this house in the countryside near Kyiv was more than just a house. It was a place of formative memories, A place that's seen family members grow up and grow old. Countless meals conjured up and scarfed down. Conflicts, both big and small rise and then fall. On those Christmas days past. The only conflict Kate can remember was in that basement, when the Colville kids playing would devolve into something more like fighting. Kate's dad, Oleksandr, would go down to the basement and tell them they needed to solve this on their own, and they couldn't come upstairs until it was settled.
- [23:59]
Coach Christina Rady
Something he would always say is, like, when Mia and your mom are gone, like, you guys are the only thing you would have. So he was like, you guys can fight. You guys cannot talk for weeks, but, like, you will always have your two brothers, no matter what.
- [24:18]
Kate Koval
Now, in late February 2022, on the day that Russia began its assault in Ukraine, Kate's mind traveled back to those carefree days as she walked off the court following her dominant performance. She heard her father's words, thought of the importance of family, searched in her mind's eye for where her family might be. And she kept coming back to the basement itself. There was no cell service down there. In this land of many conflicts, it was not just a playroom, not just for storage, and not just the place with a tiny tree in the corner. It was like every basement in Ukraine. Also a bomb shelter, perhaps. They were huddled there, not far away from that little tree. Her family at home, together, safe.
- [25:13]
Natalia Koval
Of course, we contacted as soon as we could.
- [25:16]
Kate Koval
The call finally came later that night after the game. As you just heard, it was Natalia, Kate's mom, delivering the good news. They were safe.
- [25:27]
Natalia Koval
Of course, Kate and her brothers were nervous and they were shocked. But, you know, I think that they were afraid more than we were. Because when you are already in the middle of these events, it is not so scary as from outside.
- [25:52]
Coach Christina Rady
It was a huge relief, for sure. It was a face on. I mean, it's different from when you see, like all the craziness going on in the news, but then you also see them being okay, but just like they were definitely like in a rush trying to get out of this city.
- [26:06]
Kate Koval
Clearly it was a huge relief. But also Natalia's instincts were right. Kate was nervous. With all the reports coming through. How could she not be her host mom? Ms. Blaise did what she could to limit Kate's exposure to the news.
- [26:21]
Coach Christina Rady
It was really tough. Tough though this TV loun says, I did not turn it on because I didn't want her to come downstairs and see what's going on in there. I said, don't you worry. You. You're safe. You're not going anywhere. You're safe.
- [26:38]
Kate Koval
But images of Kiev were almost impossible to avoid on TV and social media.
- [26:44]
Chantel Jennings
Russia started bombing and shooting and everything in its path.
- [26:49]
Kate Koval
You can see that man holding his.
- [26:51]
Chantel Jennings
Baby up so that he's not crushed by this crowd. The train has opened its doors, but clearly there's not room for everyone. Nobody wants to miss this train.
- [27:00]
Kate Koval
To Kate, they weren't just images. They were pictures of home, streets, buildings, parks, schools, places she knew intimately, now damaged or destroyed and being used as backdrops for news reports. The exposure took its toll.
- [27:17]
Coach Christina Rady
I was really kind of blaming myself because I'm like, why am I here and my family is over there? Like, why am I safe and my family has to go through all that?
- [27:28]
Kate Koval
While Kate felt guilty not being in Ukraine, others were trying to flee the violence and destruction. But Ukraine needed all the fighters it could get. And so shortly after the start of the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decreed that all men ages 18 to 60 must remain in Ukraine. That included Kate's dad. Before going into the family business, he had attended the Kiev Military Aviation Engineering Academy, basically the main military school in Ukraine. After his training, he served for a time in the Ukrainian Air Force as an engineer. When the attacks began in 2022, he never thought twice about returning to his first career. Kate pleaded with him to leave the country, but he was unwavering.
- [28:17]
Oleksandr Koval
Kate begged him to come back to the US like, fully begged, like, please, just come over here. His answer was, honestly incredible, but it was along the lines of, he feels that he chose to marry somebody and have children in this country, and his duty in life is to protect the country that his children grew up in.
- [28:39]
Natalia Koval
He told her that every man should protect his home, his land, his country. This is normal and this is obvious, and it is Ukrainians. They understood.
- [29:02]
Kate Koval
The Kovel family roots in Ukraine run deep by generations, and so does a sense of pride in these roots in the country they built and tended to. And in the case of Kate's dad, felt a need to protect. It's a country and a people who know what a threat to their existence feels like. Ukraine has only been an independent nation since 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed. Since then, it's had to fend off threats from neighboring Russia, including a big one. It couldn't hold off the occupation and annexation of Crimea, a peninsula on Ukraine's southern coast. This happened back in 2014 when Kate was just 8 years old. So she'd learned firsthand that building and sustaining a homeland required work. This care, as Oleksandr reiterated to Kate, required sacrifice. This love for home he showed her required action.
- [29:57]
Coach Christina Rady
I feel like I will never fully understand why he didn't leave from a selfish reason. But if I look at it more rationally, my dad, he's a, like, greatest citizen obviously, and like, why would he just leave his country? How do you want, like, Ukrainians to leave and be like, oh no, we're scared, we're leaving the country. Who else is going to defend the country then?
- [30:24]
Kate Koval
Coach Christina was in regular touch with Kate's family. She offered them space in her house if they could make it to New York. But even from Grandma, the message was the same.
- [30:34]
Oleksandr Koval
I mean, Grandma flat out said, thank you so much, Coach Christina. Like, we love you like you are ours, but we're staying and we're fighting. And she said, I stand out on my porch every single night and if I have to do anything, I will. Excuse my language, but she's like a tough motherfucker. Like, she is just, she's just tough. So it became like, very, very clear they weren't going anywhere.
- [31:03]
Chantel Jennings
But Russia has more advanced weapons. It has long range cruise and ballistic missiles and some of the world's most sophisticated air defense systems.
- [31:14]
Kate Koval
As Russia's attack continued, many feared the worst, that Ukraine would fall within weeks. With outdated military equipment and no backing from the EU or NATO, Ukraine's ability to protect itself was limited. With each subsequent strike in energy infrastructure in the country, Ukrainian towns would fall into cycles of blackouts. The nation's prospects looked bleaker and bleaker. Images from Ukraine's northern and southern borders.
- [31:42]
Chantel Jennings
Showed Moscow's forces streaming in. Russia's key advantage is in the air. Their best chance may be to defend key cities.
- [31:52]
Kate Koval
During this first week of the war, things were the worst. At night, Kate knew that could be the most dangerous time. Back home, after dinners with Ms. Blaise, which might be at around 1am in Ukraine, she'd retreat into her bedroom and scroll through her phone, constantly refreshing the news for hours and hours until it was 1am in New York. If she hadn't seen any attacks or new reports, she'd feel okay falling asleep. Assuming her parents probably got through another night, she'd wait until her morning commute to hear their voices.
- [32:24]
Coach Christina Rady
So many people like, were killed in the first few days of the war. So, like, just being able to hear their voice every day. Yeah, that's what was keeping me through it, to be honest.
- [32:36]
Kate Koval
On these calls, Kate pressed her parents about their safety and they'd reassure her before steering the conversation to lighter things, school and basketball. But during this time, things were getting more and more dangerous in Kiev. Now it wasn't just long range missiles. They feared. Russian troops were getting closer and closer to the city. Kate's mom, Natalia, regularly back channeled with Ms. Blaze and coach Christina.
- [33:02]
Oleksandr Koval
We were talking about every worst case scenario, setting up bank accounts just to make sure that God forbid something happened, the kids had money and they were taken care of, what legal guardianship would look like. We had all those conversations.
- [33:17]
Kate Koval
On one particular Evening, Natalia called Ms. Blaise. Fearing the worst, she said, islam, I.
- [33:24]
Coach Christina Rady
Don'T think we're going to make it. I said, that's okay.
- [33:29]
Kate Koval
I can't get it. Whatever was scaring Natalia in that moment thankfully did not come to pass. And Kate's parents could rest assured that their daughter was being well taken care of in all areas of her life. Little things at school, like classmates selling Ukrainian bracelets and sending the money back to the Ukrainian forces, teachers and students checking in on how her parents were doing, that went a long way in showing Kate that she was supported.
- [34:01]
Oleksandr Koval
It just helped her feel at home in a time when she really wasn't and was feeling it, if that makes sense.
- [34:08]
Kate Koval
And of course, in the midst of this all, there was basketball.
- [34:13]
Coach Christina Rady
I would say basketball helped me a lot because every time I have practice, like it would help me for like two hours to get my mind off of it.
- [34:20]
Kate Koval
In New York, Kate didn't just find Luhai. She also got recruited to play for Exodus nyc, a club team out of New York City that has produced multiple WNBA players like Marina Mabry, Bria Hartley and Kia Vaughn. With Exodus, she found a second family and another place where she could just be back in Ukraine. While Kate's dad, Oleksandr was determined to stay and fight, Kate's mom and some members of her extended family were starting to think about finding a way to get to safety. Things were getting more and more dangerous in Ukraine. One night out at Kate's grandma's house, Natalia and her sister in law were relaxing on the front porch with the pack cigarettes when a missile flew straight over their heads. Natalia knew then it was time. She needed to find a way to be closer to her three kids. The family began to make plans for the journey out. They'd drive to Slovakia overnight and move on from there. Many Ukrainians had Taken the same path out of the country, but not all of them had made it.
- [35:26]
Oleksandr Koval
It's like this unspoken elephant in the room of, like, we're just waiting for something bad to happen. She just collapsed on the floor. It honestly gives me the chills, even just thinking about that day.
- [35:58]
Kate Koval
A week into the war, Kate was at one of the L high gyms training with an assistant coach. After her session, she came back into the main gym. That's where coach Christina found her.
- [36:10]
Oleksandr Koval
Fully collapsed, just on the ground, hyperventilating. And she, like, threw her phone across the room. And now I'm sitting on the floor with her. We're both crying. I don't even know what we're fully crying over at this point. I mean, the worst obviously comes to my mind. Like, it's mom or grandma or dad. And she says, my friend, she was shot, and she was killed. They were trying to get to Slovakia, and she was just bawling. And, like, there is literally nothing you can say.
- [36:43]
Coach Christina Rady
She was a young girl. She just turned 18. Obviously, it's different if you're on the front line. Like, we all know the risks, but when the family is trying to get out of the town and something like that happens. In the beginning stage of the war, I believe it was just her and her mom and her little sister. There was not even a man with them in the car. Nobody. Just, like a mother trying to keep their kids safe. You will not feel the pain of it until you really lose somebody who you've known to the war. So I feel like that definitely made it more real for me.
- [37:18]
Oleksandr Koval
We just sat in silence two days ago. Like, the gym that she grew up playing basketball in was burnt to its bones. Now she loses a friend. There's nothing to say.
- [37:38]
Coach Christina Rady
That's the moment when you want to be with your family. But then again, my dad rose. Tell me. Like, that's what made it a lot easier for them, because that's, like, three less things to worry about. Me and my brothers, like, they don't have to worry about us, and they can just focus on themselves.
- [37:54]
Kate Koval
And Kate could focus on what she'd come over to the states for basketball and her future, her performance on the court was being noticed. College coaches were already calling about her recruitment. It gave Kate and her parents something new to talk about.
- [38:09]
Coach Christina Rady
My recruitment was going on crazy. So, like, that's what we would try to talk about. Just, like, all the new schools I'm talking to, like, how the coaches are. Like, my mom would try to keep up, get on the phone with some.
- [38:21]
Kate Koval
Coaches, coach Christina was constantly getting inquiries about Kate. What was she looking for? What were her priorities? Did she want to be in a specific area of the country? Christina told them Kate was a relationships person. That would ultimately sway her final decision. In March 2022, about one month after the start of the war, then President Joe Biden gave a speech in Poland commending Ukrainians for their national tenacity and resilience.
- [38:50]
Coach Christina Rady
Instead, Russian forces have met their match.
- [38:53]
Kate Koval
With brave and stiff Ukrainian resistance.
- [38:57]
Chantel Jennings
Rather than breaking Ukrainian resolve, Russia's brutal tactics have strengthened the resolve.
- [39:02]
Coach Christina Rady
Rather than driving.
- [39:04]
Kate Koval
Despite the mismatch in terms of weapons and numbers, the Ukrainians were putting up an unexpectedly fierce fight. But life in Ukraine was still incredibly dangerous. As shellings and fighting intensified in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continued to advance toward Kiev from the north. Finally, despite the risks, In April of 2022, Kate's mom, Natalia, along with Kate's grandma and some other extended family started their journey out of Ukraine.
- [39:37]
Natalia Koval
It was challenging from only one point of view because Oleksandr decided to stay in Ukraine. And we decided that in this case, if he stays, I should go closer to kids. We weren't scared. I traveled to Slovakia with my brother's family, so I was more concentrated that we have three small kids with us and if something happens on our way, we should concentrate on these kids and we are adults, so we can manage everything.
- [40:22]
Kate Koval
At best, it's a 14 hour drive from Kiev to the Slovakian border. But especially in those early days, as people were fleeing the country in droves, it could take much longer. And then once getting to the border, crossing could take hours, they made it safely. Natalia's brother and his kids decided to stay in Slovakia. But Natalia and her mom eventually made their way to Canada. It was easier to get visas there than it was in the U.S. plus, the family had done business in Canada, so they had ties there. Finally closer, Natalia and Kate's grandma came to visit l high for spring break that year. It was an emotional reunion, but there was still one person missing.
- [41:07]
Oleksandr Koval
There's still this idea of like, Kate's dad is there in Ukraine and it's. It's tough.
- [41:17]
Natalia Koval
When Alexandra connects, I will be in unusual role of interpreter. So I'm not a professional interpreter. Do you see him or not? Is he trying to connect or not?
- [41:31]
Kate Koval
I don't see him in the waiting room right now.
- [41:34]
Natalia Koval
Okay, I will try to call him.
- [41:39]
Kate Koval
That's me talking to Kate's mom via Zoom. Back in September 2024. We're waiting on Kate's dad, Oleksandr, to join from Kiev. When he finally logs on, he's wearing a plaid buttoned up shirt and sitting at a dining room table. Behind him, there's an oil painting and some candlesticks. Natalia acts as the interpreter throughout the conversation, but I also get the sense that his English is better than he's letting on. Kate had described him as a very serious man and that certainly comes through. But also, every time he talks about Kate, he smiles. Can you tell me a little bit about the surprise trip to Arizona at the basketball tournament?
- [42:22]
Natalia Koval
It wasn't a surprise. As far as we, as we remember, she knew. So even if we tried to hide from Kate, she knew from her brothers. There will be no surprise.
- [43:01]
Kate Koval
Surprise or not. In December of 2022, almost a year after the war began and a year since Kate had seen her father, Oleksandr received a special permit to leave the country and visit the US from the basketball court at a tournament in Phoenix, Kate looked up in the stands and there was the man she'd been missing and worrying about this whole time. Although Kate's not one for big emotional reactions, especially in public, Christina remembers the moment well.
- [43:34]
Oleksandr Koval
She didn't even know what to say. Like she was just speechless just seeing him and being able to hug him and, you know, it was funny. We joked with ESPN because for the production they were asking like, where is he sitting? I said, well, like a 6, 5 man that's wearing a shirt that's says I'm Ukrainian, period. He's pretty hard to miss. And they were like, we spotted him and I obviously I go over to him after the game and just full on like bear hugs me, lifts me up in the air and just said, love you, coach. And that was it.
- [44:09]
Kate Koval
The Koval family got to spend Christmas together that year. No, it wasn't Grandma's house in the Ukrainian countryside. But they were all in one place. And to Kate, that felt like home. On the basketball front, Liu Hai was in the middle of an historic season. Coach Kristina was right. Kate was the kind of player who helped put Lehigh on the map nationally. Silas Wardes and Kayleigh Heckel, now at Michigan and usc respectively, had transferred into LIE ahead of that season. The Crusaders played for their first national title that year, losing in the finals to Montverde Academy out of Florida. For Kate, college recruitment was ramping up and she was narrowing her choices of where she wanted to take visits. Notre Dame, Stanford and lsu, where her brother was in grad school, were all near the top of her list. That summer in 2023, ahead of her senior year at Lehigh, Kate returned to Europe to play with the under 18 Ukrainian 3x3 team in Hungary. After the tournament, with her younger brother in tow, she took a bus to Kiev to see their dad. It had been more than a year since the start of the war, and despite early predictions to the contrary, Ukraine was still standing strong. For Kate, it had been two years since she'd been home. In that time, most of her friends had left the country, so she wasn't sure what it would feel like to be there. Almost every night she was there, air alerts blared throughout the city for potential incoming threats. But during the day, it seemed normal. She had coffee with her cousins, walked the streets with her dad and brother, played with her cat, and made a special visit.
- [45:58]
Coach Christina Rady
My dad's grandma shouldn't know I was there, so I surprised her. And she hadn't seen me in like three years, so she was really surprised. But yeah, I would go to her house every day to eat because she's a really good cook and I miss the home cooked food, so I would be there. Probably gained a few pounds when I was over there, but it's okay. But it was fun.
- [46:26]
Kate Koval
When Kova returned to New York, what had become her new normal? She realized that those limited times with her family over the previous years had clarified what mattered most to her. In her basketball recruiting journey, her parents had emphasized academics as a non negotiable, and with plans to study neuroscience, she was going to get that academic rigor. But just as important was finding a place that could feel like home in the way that Queens and Luhai did, and finding people like Ms. Blaise and coach Christina who could become family.
- [46:59]
Coach Christina Rady
I don't have my family by my side all the time, so I need to be in a place that feels like home. And I know I have people I can rely on. So that was an important part of it. Like, I didn't want to go to a huge school when you're just going to be like a number and people just know you for being a basketball player and nobody would like really care about you, truly.
- [47:16]
Kate Koval
Less than two months after returning from Ukraine, Liu Hai held a ceremony at the school. There's a video on Instagram.
- [47:27]
Coach Christina Rady
Okay. So I would just start by saying thank you to my family. I mean, they're my biggest supporters.
- [47:34]
Kate Koval
Kate sits behind a red clothed table, her teammates behind her, and behind them, a screen that says special announcement. Kate's wearing a buttoned up varsity jacket.
- [47:44]
Coach Christina Rady
I want to say thank you to my dad who's doing everything to support me, Even by being 5,000 miles away.
- [47:50]
Kate Koval
She'S thanking the people in her life.
- [47:53]
Coach Christina Rady
She's been part of this process this whole time and she gave me an opportunity to join LUHA two years ago.
- [48:00]
Kate Koval
Her family, her coaches, her teammates, the Blazes, the community, express how thankful I.
- [48:06]
Coach Christina Rady
Am to the Blaze family who are accepting me like their own.
- [48:10]
Kate Koval
And then in true American high school athlete fashion, with the anticipation properly built up.
- [48:16]
Coach Christina Rady
But with all that being said, I've decided that I'm going to be committing.
- [48:21]
Kate Koval
To the she stands up and unbuttons her varsity jacket to reveal Notre Dame, her new home for the next four years.
- [48:40]
Oleksandr Koval
She's such a special player. Her focus, her mental focus and fortitude, she's the ultimate professional.
- [48:47]
Kate Koval
That's Notre Dame women's basketball coach Niel Ivey. She worked hard to recruit Kate and it seemed like a great match. Kate, the player who wanted a close knit relationship with her coach and team. And Coach Ivy, a coach who's well known for fostering that closeness with every roster she has.
- [49:05]
Oleksandr Koval
Kate's a loyal kid. I think that's what I know about her the most, is that when she finds her niche and she trusts you, like, she's super loyal. Felt like in the process we had what she was looking for as far as the landscape and the makeup of University of Notre Dame to me was very family oriented.
- [49:25]
Coach Christina Rady
Coach Ivy, I love her, she's awesome. And it just like has that family feel like it was important for me to have that feel like, yeah, I feel like people would really care about me in that place and I can see myself going there and it's going to bring something more to me than just basketball. Like Notre Dame has a huge community, they have a huge Ukrainian community. I feel like that's important because your life is not just basketball.
- [49:57]
Kate Koval
In October 2024, Kate found herself in a familiar position, unable to sleep. This time it wasn't out of fear, though, rather excitement. Her dad was en route to South Bend, Indiana for what Coach Ivy took to calling Oleksandr's official visit. He hadn't been able to be a part of Kate's official official visit, but now that she was at Notre Dame, enrolled and on the cusp of the 2024, 25 season, he was finally able to make the trip.
- [50:28]
Coach Christina Rady
The first thing I asked when he came here was like, so is there like a gym where I can lift and work out? And I was like, sir, just relax.
- [50:38]
Kate Koval
A visit to the gym wasn't exactly what Kate had planned. She wanted him to experience a proper American college weekend, complete with campus tour, tailgating, and a Fighting Irish football game. She took her parents and grandma through the Joyce center, the basketball arena where Notre Dame plays its home games, and through the team's practice facility. They weaved around campus, her apartment, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and the Grotto, and ultimately to Notre Dame's stadium and yes, touchdown, Jesus. There, Oleksandr saw his very first American football game. Well, most American of it. Kate hustled the family out early to make it to Coach Ivy's house for dinner.
- [51:18]
Oleksandr Koval
I was like, unifist for five minutes. I want to meet him. I want him to see my home. I want him to feel like kind.
- [51:24]
Coach Christina Rady
Of an official visit for him.
- [51:26]
Oleksandr Koval
It really melted my heart because I felt like he just got a chance to observe how comfortable Kate was. And I remember he said something like, I see why Kate chose Notre Dame.
- [51:41]
Kate Koval
Oleksandr is back in Ukraine now, still a part of the ongoing war effort, a war which at this very moment is heading into its third year. By the end of 2024, it was estimated that Russia controlled roughly 20% of Ukraine and that 3 to 3.5 million Ukrainians were living under Russian occupation. With a new administration and power in the U.S. many Ukrainians feel the country's future is as tenuous as ever.
- [52:09]
Coach Christina Rady
I would say it's hard because, again, like, you don't know what's gonna happen. Like tomorrow, I don't know. Nobody knows what's gonna happen. So it's like you just really have to live in the moment and just, I would say, cherish every single moment.
- [52:29]
Kate Koval
When I first met Kate, it was July of 2023 at the EYBL Nationals in Chicago, basically the under 17 national championships. There in the crowded convention center turned gym, we chatted for a bit. In that moment, she told me she didn't just want to be known as that Ukrainian girl. Now, with the passage of time, Kate sees things differently and feels her own responsibility to make good on the sacrifices that were made for her.
- [53:01]
Coach Christina Rady
I feel like my purpose is bigger than just being a basketball player. I think I have a purpose of staying strong for my country and educating people about the issue. And I just am very grateful that I get to do that. Here at Notre Dame.
- [53:23]
Kate Koval
Kate has been an integral part of Notre Dame's success so far this season. And her initial instincts about Coach Ivy and the school and a deep sense of belonging, they've only gotten stronger.
- [53:34]
Coach Christina Rady
I'm a type of person Like I don't be fake going around saying, oh, like you're my family or like, I love you. So every time I say that, I truly mean it. And I feel like this team and the coaches and like everybody here at Notre Dame that I've met so far have been really, really supportive. And like, when they say it's like family, it really is.
- [53:54]
Oleksandr Koval
She's really found a home here in South Bend. I think it's really beautiful to have somebody that young that is so mature and responsible. And every person that meets her on this campus is like, please bring in more Kates because of how special she is and how she takes care of her academic business. And she's just really showing up with just compassion and pureness. The pureness that she has and the love that she has, and I'm just fortunate to be a part of it.
- [54:20]
Kate Koval
Kate is only a freshman, but she's already shown that she's a future WNBA player. She's preparing for a deep March run with a Fighting Irish whose chances for a national title are well within reach, all the while still pursuing that neuroscience major. In short, in her parents eyes, she's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing, following her dream.
- [54:44]
Natalia Koval
I hope that she achieves all her goals. She decided to go to Notre Dame. She felt that this team, these girls, these coaches, will be the best team for her at this point. And I hope it happened so. Her choice of college wasn't emotional. It was very practical. And this choice will help her to achieve all her goals. And usually her goals are very practical, very clever, and she knows how to achieve them.
- [55:42]
Kate Koval
Effy, is there anything else I should have asked you guys about? Is there anything else you guys want to tell me about?
- [56:11]
Natalia Koval
So maybe, maybe nothing. Except that her dad loved her more than everything in his life.
- [56:35]
Kate Koval
Unless you speak Ukrainian, you probably missed the most Ukrainian part of this exchange between me and Kate's parents. It's that last line about Kate's dad loving her more than everything in his life. You see, Oleksandr never technically said that. What he did say was that if he's going to speak about Kate, whom he calls Katya, he simply can't be brief. And Natalia did what many Ukrainian women might do in this circumstance. She translated for her husband. That he loves her more than everything in his life is undoubtedly true. After all, from an active war zone, Oleksandr took an hour out of his day to speak to a reporter he had never heard of, simply because his daughter asked him to. Also further proof that His English is at least a bit better than he lets on over zoom. When Natalia translated that final line, he gave her a smile and what I interpreted as a knowing nod. Kate understands this kind of affection. She's his daughter, after all.
- [57:39]
Coach Christina Rady
One thing about Ukrainians, we are very emotional people because even when we talk, we like to talk loud. We get really emotional, like, really expressing ourselves. So that's one of the things. But I think it's more like my family, like me thing, just growing up, I'm a very affectionate person. But for some reason, like, with my family, like, I don't say I love you to them all the time, but we love each other, obviously, but we're not like, oh my God, I love you so, so much. Like, every night before going to bed, like, we hug, we give a kiss, but, like, that's it.
- [58:10]
Kate Koval
Though Kate may not say the literal words, I love you, it's more than clear how she feels about her family, how they feel about her, and just how indestructible the idea of home is. The place where all of that love comes together. What is your hope for. For when you're.
- [58:33]
Coach Christina Rady
When it's over, Seeing families get restored and families being, like, brought back together, Obviously, for the most part, it's dads coming back to their kids and their wives and just having my family just, like, come together, back to my grandma's house for, like, a nice Christmas dinner, I would say that's my biggest thing.
- [58:59]
Kate Koval
And all of them sitting around a table, playing cards in a yellow house tucked in between the trees on a quiet night in Ukraine when a basement can just be a basement. This episode was reported by me, Chantel Jennings. It was produced and edited by Andrea B. Scott, with editing help from Shannon Ryan, Abby Patterson, and Emma Spann. Trey Hester engineered the episode. Artwork by Demetrius Robinson. Jesse Burton as head of audio at the athletic, and Tim McMaster as director of Audio operations. Special thanks to to Anya Reister, Mike Smelts, and the entire Koval family.
- [60:14]
Chantel Jennings
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- [60:40]
Kate Koval
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- [61:33]
Coach Christina Rady
Acast powers the World's Best Podcasts Here's.
- [61:37]
Chantel Jennings
A show that we recommend. Hey guys, we have an exciting announcement about our podcast.
- [61:44]
Kate Koval
For the past seven years, the Holderness Family Podcast has been the most favorite thing we do.
- [61:48]
Chantel Jennings
We love getting to talk to experts. We love having meaningful conversations just the two of us. And we also love hearing from you.
- [61:54]
Kate Koval
But the thing we love most is being a place where you can laugh.
- [61:58]
Chantel Jennings
A lot has changed in the last seven years and we feel very lucky that our audience is growing older with us.
- [62:04]
Kate Koval
So in the spirit of that, we are relaunching our podcast. We are excited to introduce Laugh Lines with Kim and Penn Holderness.
- [62:11]
Chantel Jennings
The Laugh Lines podcast will be all about aging together better and also being able to laugh about getting older.
- [62:18]
Kate Koval
We hope you'll join us. Search Laugh Lines with Kim and Pen Holderness New episodes every Tuesday.
- [62:26]
Chantel Jennings
ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere.
- [62:31]
Coach Christina Rady
Acast.com.