Gabby Mittelman, who moved to NVD from Glen Rock this year, is starting on the girls varsity basketball team as a freshman.  

Mittelman applied to the Bergen Technology Program of Interactive Design, which allows her to interact with other students that aren’t just from her program.

Although Mittelmen is just a freshman, she is seen as a leader by her team and her coach, Jenny Jurjevic, since she is the point guard. 

“As a point guard, my main responsibility is to be the “floor general” and to place teammates in certain positions where they can have the most success. Based on that philosophy, I’m learning about my teammates’ strengths so they can be in a position of success on the court,” Mittelman said. 

Mittelmen explains how one of the main reasons she wanted to come to NVD was because of the coaching staff. They constantly push her to become better despite tough losses. 

“I saw from day one that Coach Jenny was committed to player development in basketball, but also prepares her players for the world outside of basketball. Coach Jenny shows up every day with a positive attitude and works with us to fix our mistakes from previous games to improve for the next one,” Mittelmen said. 

Jurjevic emphasized how easy it was for Mittelman to adjust her teammates to counter the other team’s defense and recognize the other team’s plays. 

“I saw her in the spring of her 8th-grade year playing against another team. She facilitated herself as a coach on the court. I never saw a player do that before, nonetheless an 8th grader. Her basketball IQ was above anyone else’s,” Jurjevic said. 

The girls basketball team plays in one of the best leagues in the county, which is not easy. 14-year-old Mittelman easily adjusted to the other teams and studied their defense and plays, which made it easier for her to play against those teams the second time around.

“She was able to do a better job of getting her shot off, reading the defense, and bodying up against these athletes. I haven’t had a freshman have such success in my eight years at NVD. She can handle, shoot and defend. I think a big part of this is because she’s the daughter of a coach. Her father is a varsity basketball coach and has tuned her skill set from every angle,” Jurjevic said. 

Mittelman scored over 350 points this season and earned first-team all-league honors and 3rd team all-county even though she is only a freshman.