By Yasmin A. Hasan, staff writer
She sees an exhausted freshman head into the locker room after running a mile as she, ready to give it her all, steps into the gym for the first time that day. Looking down at her oversized duffel she realizes that their day is ending as hers has just begun. Weirdly enough, as she hears a familiar voice ask, does anyone have an extra hair tie, she remembers why she decided to return for another year of running doubles and leaving school at six every day. As sophomore Julia Hong said, “creating memories with my teammates and coaches is honestly the best part of Girls Varsity Basketball.”
Tryouts are over and returning players are ready to pick up where they left off. After experiencing a tough loss in the playoffs last year, these girls are planning on making sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. The Girls Varsity Basketball coach Lauren Caiaccia states, “I don’t look at [the loss] as a negative. I look at it as an opportunity for growth. One play in a basketball game does not determine the result. We have to be able to either put ourselves in a position where one play won’t determine the game or be able to, if the play happens early in the game, let it go and move on and play the rest of the game.”
Due to some players graduating and others leaving the team, returning players are ready to step up and work twice as hard to guarantee more wins. Julia says, “My goal is to play better defense, score more points, and to help everyone get through tough times together.” It’s always easier to solely focus on the final score rather than all the plays that occurred throughout a game, which is what Julia is trying to avoid.
Junior RosaLydia Caputo has been on the team since her freshman year and knows how important it is to build strong relationships within the team and feel like you can count on one another. She wants everyone to learn from last year and come into this year with a winning mentality. She knows that the team is capable of so much and is looking forward “to the team growing not only in skill, but in chemistry.”
An immense number of students, teachers, parents, and staff attended the playoff game last season, which meant a lot to the girls on the team. They are hoping to receive as much support from everyone again this season and deliver the performance that everyone is hoping to see.
