As the girls basketball team continues through its conference season, both the players and the coaches continue to face many new challenges throughout the entire season.
The team has played a total of 12 games so far this season where they won 7 of the games they played. Four of those games were home games, One was an away game, and Two of the games were played on neutral courts.
The varsity team is both very small and very young this year compared to previous years with a starting team that consists of Two sophomores, Two juniors, and One senior. Throughout the season that players have had to adapt to starting with one another, with this for many of them being the first season they were starters.
“We are a very young team with two sophomores starting on Varsity. Additionally, we lost 4 of our 5 starters from last year so we have had to work on teamwork and trust in this group since they have not really shared the floor at the same time as each other before,” said assistant varsity girls basketball coach Jennifer Schulmeister.
The team began playing in this season’s conference championship working toward building from the achievements it has during the championship last season.
“We come in each year looking to compete for a conference championship,” said assistant varsity girls basketball coach Kendirck Thomas. “Last year we won the most games in AT Girls Basketball history which was a huge accomplishment, but we fell short in regionals. We want to build off the success of last year and increase our skill and depth.”
The team has had many highs and lows throughout this season winning and losing many games throughout both the season and in the beginning of conference.
“We are right in the middle of the pack in conference with some key games still to play,” said Thomas. “We beat the defending conference champs early in the year but fell short in some very winnable games. I think a combination of lack of experience and the overall conference becoming stronger led to our conference losses. We have won some close games and also been on the losing end of some heartbreakers but overall our staff is pleased with our growth.”
Throughout the season the players are able to develop their skills with the help of each other and the coaches, while also forming close relationships with one another.
“My favorite thing about coaching basketball is skill development,” said Schulmeister. “Being able to teach a skill, continue to work on it throughout the season, and then seeing the action click in a game is awesome. Another favorite of mine is the relationships we are able to develop. I have been very lucky to coach and teach in the same community that I grew up in. I love being able to keep in touch with previous athletes over the years and to watch them grow into wonderful young women.”
