It is officially winter sports season at Carterville High school, which means girls basketball is right around the corner. Last season the girls had an overall record of 10-20, with a total of 14 girls in the program. They went 3-5 in conference, placing them in the 4th seed out of 5.
This year the team consists of 18 total players, 9 freshmen, 3 sophomores, and 6 juniors. The Lions are led by head coach Todd Rogers and assistant coach Eli Gunter.
Both coaches are very much looking forward to this season. When speaking with Gunter, he stated “I’m feeling absolutely fired up and energized for this season! We have a fantastic blend of returning experience (who are just Juniors) and young, hungry talent. My feeling is that we have the potential to surprise a lot of teams, and I’m ready to see all the hard work they put in during the off-season pay off. Every day in practice, I see moments of brilliance and commitment that tell me we are building something special. I couldn’t be more excited to get started! ” This team is very excited and ready to get the season started. With no returning seniors the ability to develop young players is strong.
Each season calls for different ways to prepare depending on the group. This season coach Gunter gave us some insight on some of their plans to prepare for the season.
“We are focusing more this year on mental toughness and situational awareness right from the start. We are stressing fundamentals. We’re also putting a renewed emphasis on defensive versatility, preparing the girls to execute multiple defensive looks so we can adapt to any opponent we face. We’re preparing for success at every stage of the game.”
The mindset when playing a sport is huge, focusing on this will drastically improve the teams dynamic on and off the court.
Coach Rogers also talked about the team’s demeanor in practice. “The team has been competing hard in practice. Everyone is really supportive of their teammates. With so many young players, it’s going to take time to develop team chemistry,” said Rogers.
Not only the coaches are excited for the start of a new season. The players are also extremely excited. When talking with sophomore Masyn Kries, she said “The team dynamic is good so far, we are a young team with no seniors and all have to put in work to make up for that… but we are starting off good so far.” The bond within a team is huge, having a strong foundation will help the team immensely throughout the season.
This season the girls are set to have 17 home games. Make sure to come out to the season opener at home on Tuesday November 18th @ 6:00 PM against the West Frankfort Redbirds. For updates on everything Carterville sports, follow @CHS_Lion_Ath on Twitter/X and @Lions_Ath_CHS on Instagram.
