Being a freshman can be hard. New school, new people, new schedule, new teachers. Now try being a freshman thrown onto a highly skilled Girls’ Varsity Basketball team.
The Lady Spartans are known for being competitive, making it to the quarterfinals of last year’s state competition, and that puts no small amount of pressure on its players. After being on the team for a few years, most girls can figure out how it all works and what they need to do to help win games. It can be much more difficult, however, for girls who play at the same caliber as the upperclassmen, to adjust to life in the fast lane. The new freshmen work hard to bond with their new teammates.
“Since I’ve known [the team] it’s actually pretty fun,” said freshman Haley Blankinship, “not easy, it’s hard, but fun.”
Luckily this year’s freshmen girls aren’t the first who have earned the title of being a varsity level basketball player. Not all the upperclassmen played Junior Varsity before moving up, and so they get plenty of help from their teammates, who all respect their positions on the team, but now these freshmen are having to rise to the occasion.
“They’re gonna be in more leadership roles now because there aren’t as many upperclassmen on the team,” said junior Amy Berglund, who played varsity as a freshman.
The younger girls are up for the challenge of playing with the older kids, and they understand that there is just as much, if not more, expected of them as of the upperclassmen.
“You just gotta prove yourself,” said freshman Shelby Haynes. “You gotta work hard. You’re younger than everyone so you can’t stop.”
These girls are eager to prove their worth, and know that they can do it. Even if the older players might not always want to be led by “the freshmen,” they understand that they all need to support each other to make the team the best it can be. The basketball team agrees that age shouldn’t matter when it comes to leaders. They listen to whoever is going to bring them success on the court.
“Sometimes it’s like ‘Why should someone listen to a freshman when they don’t have the experience,’” said Berglund, “but they still know the game.”
The team has started its season with a bang, already earning a winning record.
The players have garnered support from all around the school, starting from the first tip off, and chances are the whole school will be supporting them throughout the season, including the freshmen.
Young or not, these girls have fought for and shown that they deserve the positions they’ve been given, and they continue to demonstrate that at every game.
“You always have the moments where you’re just a baby freshman,” said Haynes, “but sometimes you gotta step up for the team, it doesn’t really matter how old you are.”