Girls’ basketball dedicates time to hard work
Program competes with only three teams
December 1, 2015
Running in from the morning cold, the girls’ basketball players hustled to arrive on time for the first 6:30 a.m. practice.
With tryouts wrapped up and the teams beginning to practice, varsity head coach Brian Massie said the players and their attitudes look promising.
“We have a group of dedicated girls that the moment the season ended last year up until now have been grinding. They’re young but we have one senior and she’s a great leader and basketball player,” Massie said. “I am excited to see their growth.”
According to junior captain Stephanie Reuter, the season could hold many possibilities. “We don’t really know how the season will go. We have a lot younger team this year,” Reuter said. “I am excited to see how we compare to a lot of other teams because many other teams in our conference are also rebuilding.”
Massie said he wants to utilize team building activities this year.
“We asked the girls who graduated last year, what are some of the ways we can get better, and we listened. One of the outcomes is we are doing more team bonding,” Massie said. “With girls, that bonding experience really helps and that is something we are going to do.”
According to Massie, the team works hard in preparation for games.
“I love games, but where you make your money is practice. The good players are consistent and that pays off in games,” Massie said. “I love having practices and seeing girls working hard and having fun.”
Reuter said she wants to work on team strength this year.
“The other captains and I have been planning a lot of team activities,” Reuter said. “We have been trying to incorporate more things we can do as a team to develop relationships.”
According to Massie, the girls want to win and are willing to work hard to do it.
“Were changing the culture around here and it’s fun,” Massie said. “Girls are calling me asking me, can they shoot in the morning. We have a 6:30 a.m. practice and every girl made it. It’s incredible.”
Reuter said this year the teams will be organized differently.
“This year we only have three teams. We don’t have a sophomore team, so a lot of the girls are moved up,” Reuter said. “We will probably have some people playing both JV and Varsity.”
The girls scrimmaged Nov. 21 at Holy Family in St. Paul. The team travelled Nov. 24 to Northwestern University to watch a former player who now plays for Macalester.
The first game takes place Dec. 1 in the main gym at the high school.
