BALLER (noun, BAWL-er)

1.    Someone who is very proficient at, and passionate about playing ball, especially basketball,

2.   Belle Pellecchia (puh-LEH-key-uh), rising junior guard at NYU, Division III All-American

Belle Pellecchia was born with a basketball in her hands, or so it seemed. Her dad played Division III college ball and the game was a constant presence in the Pellecchia house. The Mendham, New Jersey native fell in love with the game on her own terms at a young age, eventually becoming a top player in the very competitive Central Jersey high school girls basketball scene. In her two years with the NYU Violets, the savvy playmaking guard and defensive whiz has helped lead the Violets to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight in each season.

While her interest in the environment and climate change are of a more recent vintage, Pellecchia, EcoAthletes’ newest Champion, is excited to offer the same tenacity and will to win to the #ClimateComeback that she brings to the hardwood.

“You want Belle to have the ball in her hands with the game on the line,” declared Lew Blaustein, EcoAthletes CEO and Founder. “Unafraid to take the big shots, go for the big steal, or make the key pass, she does what is needed to win. Belle showed that same quality in her first couple months as an EcoAthletes Champion by making herself available for an interview with BBC Sports about March Madness and the need to curb our Climate Madness (Belle’s segment starts at the 12:30 mark). It reached over 5 million listeners worldwide. And this is just the beginning!”

That willingness, that confidence to be at the center of the action, whether on the basketball court or ultimately as a climate leader, did not just happen. It took a combination of hard work on Pellecchia’s part along with best-in-class mentorship from Mary Klinger, a legend in girls basketball coaching circles. As a point guard in her own high school days, Klinger, then known as Mary Coyle, was the epitome of a hard worker as she cut her basketball teeth on the tough playgrounds of Philadelphia. She then became a key cog on the 1982 Rutgers University team that won an improbable national championship; they were celebrated in the 2022 award winning documentary film, “Forgotten Champions.”

“Playing for Coach Klinger while at Rutgers Prep was like getting a PhD in toughness on the basketball court,” acknowledged Pellecchia. “I love playing defense and Coach brought that out in me. We had good squads all four years I was there, with several of my teammates going on play at Division I schools. I was a role player as a freshman and then started from my sophomore year on.”

Looking to follow her teammates to a D-I program, Pellecchia’s recruitment was hampered somewhat because it took place during the first phase of COVID.

“I was hoping to play AAU ball during the summer heading into my senior year of high school but that was called off due to the pandemic,” she recalled. “So, we had to send film to recruiters rather than being seen in person. And my game — defense and toughness — probably didn’t stand out as much on tape as it would have if coaches saw me live, which hurt me when it came to D-Is recruiting me. Fortunately, I met an assistant coach at Division III NYU. I fell in love with the school right away and the idea of being in the city. The opportunities were and are amazing!”

From a basketball perspective, Pellecchia hoped that the NYU Violets would have that same ‘do whatever it takes’ culture that her high school squad had developed. COVID had put things at a bit of a standstill when she arrived as a freshman for the 2021-22 season. What to do?

“Our class and the sophomores one year ahead had a lot of talent,” she asserted. “We decided we were going to make the team our own. We got to the gym early every day, we cared for each other, and we set a high goal for ourselves: The NCAA D-III Final Four. And the seniors were just great. They accepted that we and the sophomores were more talented. Jealousy could’ve been a big problem, but they supported us from the jump and led by example.”

Deploying a lineup of freshman and sophomores can often result in early-season struggles, and the 2021-22 NYU Violets were no different. They took their lumps at the beginning but then things started to click, with Pellecchia becoming a key contributor as a shooting guard who also brought her trademark tough defense to the court. The team made it to the Elite 8, falling one win short of their target.

This past season, a teammate’s injury led to Pellecchia taking over the crucial point guard spot. While she learned this ‘coach on the floor’ position on the fly, the Violets did not miss a beat, winning the UAA league title and again reaching to the Elite 8 before falling to eventual national champion Transylvania University (Kentucky).

Suffice to say, the rising junior is tired of having her season end short of the Final Four.

“This coming year, our young group will now be seniors and juniors,” she asserted. “We won’t be satisfied with reaching the Final Four. We’re going for the National Championship!”

Pellecchia also has big goals when it comes to making a difference on climate, with her interest first being piqued in high school.

“I took AP environmental science in high school with an incredible teacher,” she enthused. “It really opened my eyes to the scope of the climate crisis, to think differently about it, and how I could take action.”

In her first two years at NYU, Pellecchia has accelerated her climate action path, majoring in both environmental studies and journalism.

“Climate and environmental communications are challenging,” Pellecchia acknowledged. “People connect and react to powerful stories about any topic, and climate change is no different. I’ve enjoyed writing climate and environmentally focused pieces, including about upgrades to some of our dorms to make them more energy efficient dorms. I want to pursue a career in which I get to be of service to people and that would certainly include making a difference on the environment and/or on climate.”

The intersection of Green & Sports is now an area of interest. She did not know it existed until rising NYU senior soccer player Catie Collins told her about EcoAthletes.

“Already an EcoAthletes Champion, Catie really opened my eyes to the interconnectedness between sports and the environment,” noted Pellecchia. “I had not heard about this world but the more I learned, the more it makes sense that 1) sports impacts the environment, 2) athletes are impacted negatively by environment — just look at how sports events across the New York City-New Jersey area were postponed that early June day when we had the worst air quality in the world due to wildfires from Quebec and Nova Scotia, 3) athletes and sports organizations must use our platforms to take positive environmental action and lead our fans to do the same, and 4) that I need to be part of it! Becoming an EcoAthletes Champion is allowing me to do just that.”

With the start of her junior year a little more than a month away, Pellecchia is committed to leading the Violets to a national championship on the court and to becoming a #ClimateComeback leader off of it.

I would not bet against this baller in either case.

You can follow Belle on Instagram