Girls basketball season is underway and aiming to improve with a record of 0-4 as they work towards the regional game on Saturday Feb. 15. Their next home basketball game is Tuesday Dec. 10 in the main gym.
“I just get excited about working with a new group of girls, not just my varsity team but all the girls in the program, so just seeing as a program the girls being able to bond and come together as one,” Timothy Torkelson, head coach, said. “I use the term family a lot with our program, so[I love] just seeing all the hard work that we put in the off-season come to play during the season and just really putting the girls in a position to be successful and have fun during the season.”
Not only is the coach excited about the start of the season and ready to help all the girls succeed, but the players also have goals they hope to achieve.
“My personal goal this season is to average 15 pts each game 5 steals, and 3 assists let alone working on my attitude on both ends of the court and approaching each game with a positive mentality and mindset,” Na’vayuh Junior, senior, said.
The players also learn new things throughout their season that help them reach their goals.
“Basketball has impacted my high school career in every way imaginable, and I feel I have grown not just as a player but as an individual and have learned many things about myself,” Alyssa Link, junior, said.
The team also focuses on learning new skills, making memories, and building a great relationship with each other this season.
I am looking forward to competing another year, having successful outcomes, and making memories with my friends,” Riley Freischlag, junior, said. “I work well with my teammates and always have a positive mindset during practices and games.”
Being a part of the basketball team has taught the girls that they can be successful and have fun if they work together.
“It’s taught me how to work hard, set goals for myself, and work together as a team. One of my good friends convinced me to try out freshman year even though I had never played before,” Delaney Weber, junior, said.
Even with a great team to be a part of and how much they support each other, they still have to deal with the challenges of playing different teams in their conference.
“I think the three Plainfields is just a natural rivalry. I think if you ask the girls, I think it would kind of spread out with the three of those,” Torkelson said. “I think when we go up against Plainfield North that’s typically out of the three the biggest rivalry.”
The coach is proud of the girls and of the team he has no matter what and is ready to make them the best version of themselves.
“There’s a lot of advantages to being a part of a team, but at the end of the day I want them to be good people, productive in the community when they leave basketball, leave high school, and just making the right choices,” Torkelson said. “Also at the same time, obviously I want them to learn to be better basketball players along the way.”
