With a score of 44-14, Varsity Girls Basketball started off their season strong with a win against Golden High School. As they piled on the points however, many players and their coach, Brady Meeks, felt that they have a lot of room for improvement this season. 

Meeks describes having “mixed emotions” about the game they played on Monday night. 

He explains, “It’s nice to get a W always, but it was pretty ugly. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. It looked like we had first game jitters”. 

A senior on the team, Amanda Neff, agrees, “We struggled with going too fast and staying calm, but I think that with the first game nerves out of the way that stuff can be fixed”. 

However, even through rough plays, they pulled a grand win that has brought confidence for a bright season headed their way. 

Jasmyn Williams, another senior on the team, explains, “Winning this first game puts a lot of hope into what I see our future being. While we had ups and downs, seeing what we could do on the positive side of the game, we have a really special team. Having nine out of our ten on the roster score this first game really says something about our team and this season, we don’t have one person a team can stop, it’ll take everyone”. 

It is clear that this team is learning to be in tune with one another each practice, and that they have built a strong bond. Through coaching, Meeks does his best to cater to the needs of his players, as well as finding out new ways to help them succeed.

He expresses that the hardest part of coaching is, “Dealing with 31 different personalities. It’s about figuring out which coaching style works for different kids and what they respond to. Some kids you’ve got to be tough on, while some you have to put an arm around. That’s the toughest part.”

For the rest of the season, Meeks has high hopes for his team. 

He explains his excitement for them “Just continuing to improve,” Meeks continues, “I think this team has a ton of potential. As we saw tonight, we can get a little out of control and lose our poise. But we have a great roster, a good group of kids. I think we can do some things this year.”