With the second semester beginning, the girl’s basketball team has expressed their feelings about the current season ending. For the upperclassmen, this moment feels more surreal.
“It’s made me busy, but it’s also gained me a lot of friends, and some of my closest friends I’ve met through basketball,” junior Keira Rausch said.
Keira has gotten the opportunity to not only gain friendships but has also been able to play alongside her sister, Avery. Senior Avery Rausch shared her experiences starting at a young age.
“I started when I was four, starting with little rec basketball,” Avery said, “I started competitively playing in second grade, then I’ve continued AAU ever since.”
With basketball season being in session, the juggle between personal and professional life can be challenging for some.
“It’s a lot, especially during basketball season, but it’s about not putting too much pressure on it,” junior Journie Curtis said, “It’s about letting one game happen and onto the next one. So I can keep moving on with other parts of my life.”
The basketball season has not only influenced the players’ personal lives, but also their high school experience.
“It’s definitely been a lot of fun,” junior Sammie Stabno said, “being able to have a group of people that you can spend time with and push yourself with is a lot of fun.”
There is always a time when an athlete has a down day, is not performing as well, and can’t seem to pick back up, but having a coach who fully loves and supports her team is always important.
“It’s not that important. She always says, you know, after a bad game, you just gotta let it sort of slide off so you can focus on the next game and not let it affect the rest of the season,” Keira said.
When it comes to a team there always has to be somebody to go to so when it comes to the girls having a down day sometimes they don’t want to hear from the coach, they need support from their teammates.
“I’ve learned how to be a better leader, because coming from a club, there were a lot of girls whose basketball was their life. So coming into high school, there are a lot of girls who are either playing basketball for the first time or just playing it to have fun,” Avery said, “so it’s really kind of helped me develop as a leader and know how each person needs to be talked to during a game or during practice, to help get the best out of them, as well as not hurting feelings,” Avery said.
As the season soon comes to an end, the team continues to compete while supporting one another. This basketball season has influenced the players’ lives on and off the court.
