Now that football is over, girls basketball season is here and the girls are ready to tear up the court!
“The girls are very hardworking and they are a very unselfish group. They will definitely pass each other the ball,” Greg Bayer, coach, said.
The obvious goal is to win games, especially against “Plainfield North because we’ve gone tail to tail with them and they bring toughness to the court,” Erin Graefen, senior, said.
Although winning against Plainfield North would be amazing, it’s not the main focus.
“We always say the next game is the biggest game, we don’t put one game over another,” Bayer said.
The girls have many specialties on the court but most prefer to play defense. If you can shut the other team down on defense, we can start to dominate on offense,” Rebecca Sheehan, junior, said.
The coaches have definitely helped improve the girls’ defensive skills so far this year. “The coaches are very aware of each of our strengths and weaknesses, and they let us know how to improve,” Sheehan said.
The girls adore learning from Coach Bayer and Coach Hill.
“They bring an Intensity level but still bring fun to the practice,” Kayley Grabowski, senior, said.“They push us to become better in school and in sports,” Graefen said.
The coaches really value their jobs and have learned a lot over the years.
“I saw a girl who missed the start time for practice; and she cried through part of the practice. It showed me how much she cared about the team. It motivated me to be a better coach,” Jon Hill, coach said.
Although Coach Bayer hasn’t been coaching for long, he has definitely impacted the girls.
“This is only my 2nd year coaching so I would say time is a key factor in becoming a better coach,” Bayer said. ”I’ve learned from what I did last year and hope to improve this year.
With a great basketball team comes friendship and companionship. The girls have become close because of their participation with the team.
“Freshman year I was on varsity, so I got to be mentored by upperclassmen,” Graefen said.
As well as mentoring each other, the girls have created a bond together.
“Some of my best friends come from the basketball team,” Grabowski, said.
With this bond the girls perform better in class and on the court
Overall, because of the friendship, skills, hard work and coaches, the girls feel this season is sure to be great. The next game will be on Dec. 12 at Naperville North at 7 p.m.