Northeast High’s Finnish Basketball Star

ST. PETERSBURG – From Finland to Florida, Pauliina Ventoniemi is finding that the transition to life as an American is made easier by playing her favorite sport, basketball. She moved to the Old Northeast neighborhood in August and says that she loves it.

Ventoniemi thinks that playing basketball is helping her learn to speak better Enlgish. That’s not all. She says it also helps in making new friends.

When asked how the U.S. is different from her home country, Ventoniemi says “Sports are valued more here and the school is easier, but the food is healthier in Finland.”

Since the age of 11, Ventoniemi has been sharpening her b-ball skills for the future. Aside from raw talent, Ventoniemi enjoys it because of the team aspect. “It feels good when you make a basket and score points,” she explains.

William White is head coach for Northeast High School’s Girl’s Basketball Team. He could see Ventoniemi’s potential right off the bat. “She does everything exceptionally,” White said. Coach White is new to Northeast High, but plans on making a positive change as far as girls' basketball goes.

Pauliina Ventoniemi has high hopes for her future as a student as well as an athlete. After high school she said that she would like to “go to college in Florida and play pro basketball.”

Thursday night, Ventoniemi led the Northeast Vikings to defeat Dunedin in a pre-season tournament. Coach White was pleased with the way the girls played and said they have already come a long way since he started with them in the summer. “They performed very well and have gotten a lot better in a short amount of time,” said White.