Sixteen players grades 8-12 are out for the girl’s basketball team said coach Kelly Hawsen, who is starting her fourth year as head coach.
Joining coach Hawsen this year is Ashley Deschampe, who is taking the reigns over the B-team.
Four starters are back from the 2017/2018 team, but coach Hawsen said all starting positions are open for competition.
This past Tuesday, the second full day of practice, the girls worked on ball screens, off ball back screens, and pick and rolls. They practiced blocking out on offense and defense, transition defense and transition offense and ran and ran and ran some more.
“It’s hard, I know,” said coach Hawsen to her troops who were winded but not quitting. “But you’re getting in shape, and this is good for you,” she added.
No one complained. The girls worked hard. “Talk to each other,” the coach told the kids. When they missed shots or threw an errant pass, they did burpees. Or pushups. Or ran some more.
Still, water breaks were plentiful, and the kids were having fun. When they finally figured out that talking to each other was a good thing, they became very vocal with instructions to each other, and their court play improved.
Coach Hawsen stopped the action occasionally to show a player (or all of the players) how to get in position to make –or take—a pass, how to use a screen to get open, how to steal a pass when playing defense. Instruction was followed by many minutes of practicing what they had just learned.
The team will start with a 1-4 offense and play man defense, said coach Hawsen.
“And we will push transition offense,” she added.
When asked about playing full-court defense, she thought for a moment and replied,” “That will depend on how many girls we feel can handle that. But yes, we will play some full-court defense.”
With no real height, the team practiced hard on blocking out and rebounding. Rebounding is more about hustle than height anyway. More about trying and not giving up on a loose ball coming off the rim or backboard. There were some real gamers out there, battling for rebounds.
“These girls have a great attitude,” said coach Hawsen. “They work so well together. The eighth-grade players are picking up the new offense fast. The older girls are encouraging, the younger girls. The camaraderie on this team is great. I have to say, they are a lot of fun to coach.”
The first action the girls will have this season is this weekend at the Esko Jamboree. The games don’t count, but it’s a great place to see how the kids are stacking up against the competition.
The Vikings go on the road for their first three games. They play Northeast Range at home on Thursday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m. and then play Moose Lake/Willow River at home the next night at 4:45 p.m. Come out and cheer on your Vikings!
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