Sue Grenfell returns for her sixth season as the lady Wolverines basketball coach. This year the team consists of 13 athletes, two seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen.
“Coaching feels like a good way for me to contribute to the school community, so that is a part of it,” Grenfell said when asked what keeps her coming back. “And, I enjoy it! The kids are great – positive, hard-working, respectful – and the parents are supportive and encouraging.”
She added that she is always excited to see how the kids grow and develop from one year to the next, “as players, certainly, but even more as people. It is an honor to watch the kids grow up into thoughtful and confident young women.”
The team is going to be an exciting one to watch this year. “All of them,” Grenfell replied when asked if there were any players she wanted to give a shout-out to. “I could say positive things about all 13 kids we have on our varsity team this year, as well as to all the positive and enthusiastic kids on the JV team.” Highlighting two, however, would be the senior captains, Mia Germain and Sarah Cruz. According to Grenfell, they have set a great tone for the team, and playing with a lot of confidence. “I’ve really been happy to see how well they have stepped into a leadership role. They start practices for me, they do a daily ‘roses-and-thorns’ check-in with their teammates, they encourage and teach their younger teammates. … It has been really nice to see.”
Fans will want to keep an eye on three freshman rising stars Lyla Ovenall, Ila Allen and Lola Clark. “I think they will all be important contributors for us,” Grenfell said. There are also four sophomores who put in a lot of time in the gym over the summer: Lilly Carrillo, Caylee Morton, Atziry Orozco Jimenez and Vera Schoultz. Grenfell says, “It will be fun to watch how all their hard work pays off for them on the court.”
According to Grenfell, the focus this year will be on trying to increase scoring during transition. “We’ve seen some success with that already,” she said. Balancing a more aggressive approach with being able to take care of the ball will be next.
The team was already established before their first game. “After each game, we reflect on how we did, and evaluate whether we met our goals or not. Our most important goals tell us whether the game was a win or not: did we play with good sportsmanship, did we compete with 100% effort all game long, did we communicate with each other and did we maintain a team-first mindset?” Grenfell explained. “If we can say yes to all those things, then we won the game, no matter what was on the scoreboard.”
The next game is an away game at Toledo High on Dec. 21. The next home game takes place Jan. 7 at 4 p.m. against Coupeville.
