Family of the Month
The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree
By Colleen Bagnall

The Dostys were an obvious choice for TUCSON SPORT'S Family of the Month because not many parents can produce such elite athletes. Sybil and Whitney have excelled in almost every sport they've played. At the ages of four and six, they were on a swim team and already breaking city records. Sybil turned to the basketball court and was an overnight success. In her senior year at Salpointe Catholic High School she was named the Gatorade Arizona Women's Basketball Player of the Year. At the age of 12, Sybil received her first letter from a college. The University of Irvine, California wanted her to know they were interested in her. The letter is now framed on her bedroom wall.

“We groomed her most of her life for where she is now. I can remember when she was five or six and she was crying one day when I was training her and my wife said to let up. But I was preparing Sybil for what coaches were going to be like in the future. At least I was doing it out of love,” says Robbie. Daughter Sybil says, “I can honestly say that my dad was much harder on me than Coach Pat Summitt [ University of Tennessee ] is. Coach Pat is really tough, but I don't have any trouble handling her.”

Whitney is the more graceful sister who preferred dance over contact sports when she was younger. “When she was in preschool, she would do cartwheels through the grocery store aisles,” laughs Tonii. Whitney began to dance at the age of five, and then took a liking to gymnastics. She literally outgrew both activities. After all, you don't see many six-foot-three-inch ballerinas! In gymnastics, her long legs would hang over the edge of the balance beam. Whitney performed in New York for two summers at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. While there, she grew five inches! Two years ago, Whitney decided to try another sport: volleyball. With no formal lessons or experience, she took up volleyball and is now the number one high school recruit in the West. “I don't consider myself as skilled as other players who have been playing volleyball a lot longer. I attribute it all to genes,” Whitney admits. Tonii says, “She's still so raw. She can be taught the skills and refined. In ballet, you're always taking correction, so she's used to that.”

Whitney's transition from ballet to volleyball was a smooth one. She found ballet practice much more difficult than volleyball. “In ballet, we practiced every day- even the entire weekend. You don't get a break from the season like you do in volleyball.” From a fan's standpoint, volleyball is the preferred sport. “When Whitney danced, we would sit for ten hours, waiting for her to perform. And then she'd only be on stage for two minutes and that included the time it took to walk on and off the stage!” Robbie exclaims. Whitney now plays for Club Cactus Volleyball as she considers college scholarships from some of the best universities in the West, including the University of Arizona , her parents' alma mater. “It's my choice and it's a pretty tough decision,” she said.

This athletically superior family didn't happen by mistake. Robbie played for the UA Men's Basketball team from 1977 to 1980 and was drafted by Golden State . Tonii played preseason for the UA Volleyball team. “As I tell the girls, God didn't give every kid the physical attributes. He gave it to you and you have to make the most of it,” says Robbie. Being an elite athlete is demanding for the individual and the family. “There's no balance, just a lot of sacrifice. Your whole life revolves around your child's sport. We can't take a vacation if we're going to miss a game or performance. I don't know if the children are so disciplined or if it's the parents who are,” Robbie explains.

Last summer, the Dosty girls were at home together, arguing over who was faster. Sybil wanted to go outside to race, so Tonii stood in the street in front of their home, ready to give the sign for the race to begin. “I felt horrible. I knew one of them had to lose. I was so nervous,” Tonii recalls. It was Whitney who beat her older sister by three to four strides. “Sybil was so upset. All she said was, ‘I want a rematch',” Whitney gloated. Sybil says, “I was definitely cocky and thought I'd win. I was so mad I slammed the door and didn't talk to Whitney the rest of the day.”

Sybil and Whitney are two very different children. Robbie recalls their reactions to the midnight curfew he set when they were in high school. “Sybil was our tester. Curfew was midnight. Whitney would be home and asleep well before that. Not Sybil. She would walk in at 12:01. We had our worst arguments over this. It took her a long time to realize that a midnight curfew really meant 11:45 in our house.” And she's still learning that lesson. At the beginning of the basketball season, Sybil fell asleep at a friend's home and missed the team curfew by two hours. She had to miss a game and run for two hours since she was two hours late. “My dad's punishment was nothing compared to Coach Pat's. I won't be late again, that's for sure,” Sybil says with a chuckle.

The family dynamics are quite different with Sybil gone. “I cried the first two to three weeks. I really missed her. I missed her personality, and I even missed her smell. I know that sounds strange but you just get so used to having her around,” recalls Tonii. Robbie says, “Now when she comes home from school, it's like having an adult in the house but she's not really an adult. I can't keep a tight rein on her. After three days, I want her to go back to school,” he adds with a wink.