By Jackson Robbins
The 2023-24 girls basketball team will not have a long senior night. In fact, they won’t be having one at all, and they might not even have one next year either.
It might be confusing on why they would skip senior night, but the answer is simple. There are no juniors or seniors on the team.
A young team could seem like a team that is going to underperform, but last season may have been the start of something big with three freshmen in the varsity starting lineup a year ago. They are only going to improve as the young team grows to be seniors and juniors.
New head coach Tyronda Benning said, “Ideally, any team would love to have a roster full of older players, which then brings more knowledge and leadership. I will say that we are blessed in the sense to have a few sophomores who display self-confidence and are hard workers. Those characteristics are what is found in upperclassmen. So for that, we are grateful.”
The team has taken its age to be an advantage because they have adapted to play as a team and give themselves time to develop. This has made a lot of excitement amongst the team for the upcoming seasons.
¨I can just tell from practice that we are more cohesive, but also I think people want to win and not only win, but work together and be the best person they can be on and off the court,¨ sophomore varsity basketball player Elizabeth Bamidele said.
With a brand new head coach, Ms. Benning, the players are excited.
“I like how she holds us all accountable,” Bamidele said. “She doesn’t take our bull crap. She pushes us and expects a lot out of us, but that’s nice because it shows that someone cares about you and really wants the best out of you.”
Sophomore Ava Montero said “She breaks a lot of things down for us so we can understand the game better and become a better team as a whole.”
The new coach is also trying to create a good space for the players.
“My main philosophy as a coach is to create a healthy and positive environment,” Benning said. “I aspire to build strong, driven women with confidence that will lead them into adulthood.”
She knows a thing or two about working hard as she was an NCAA Division 1 college basketball player at Ball State University and has been surrounded by basketball her whole life.
She’s also faced hard challenges in life including being a police officer before coaching and teaching.
With this new found energy and excitement for this season the players are feeling good and ready.
With the Eagles off to a 2-1 start and a game tonight (Nov. 9) against Cowan the season is off.
