Girls Basketball: Getting up to speed

Sophomore Sofia Chadwick, second leading scorer last season (photo by Jim Lindquist_

As a late hire in 2011, Tiger coach Sondra Chadwick had little time to prepare for her first season at the reins of the Tiger girls' program. This year she says she and her team are ready for season number two.

"We already have a much different look and feel in our practices compared to last season," Chadwick said. "This group has worked very hard in the off-season on their skills, playing on other AAU teams, playing in fall league and lifting weights. 

"We have had triple the number of girls attending open gyms compared to last fall. They are coming into this season well-conditioned, coachable and ready to play."

Farmington finished with just six wins last winter and seven players from that roster graduated last spring. Still, Chadwick is excited to see how her team will perform in 2012-13.

"We'll be underdogs," she said. "With such a young team with little varsity experience, I expect that we will have some early bumps and plenty of learning opportunities.

"However, this is a very talented and coachable group, and I have no doubt that once they get themselves comfortable in a varsity game, they will be able to compete with most teams in our conference and section... We may be overlooked this season, but I believe with our talent and speed we will surprise some people."

Junior forward  Aly Grebner (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Chadwick has just three letterwinners back from last year's squad: junior forward Aly Grebner and sophomore guards Sofia Chadwick and Abby Gallus. Chadwick, last year's Rookie of the Year, was the team's second leading scorer as a freshman.

Senior forward Callie Halterman and sophomores Kaitlyn Gorden (forward), Sydney Speer (forward) Jordyn Homeier (guard), Leah Hammond (guard), Chelsey Bruns (forward) should also see a lot of court time.

Last year the Tigers depended on their size for much of their offense. This year Chadwick said her team's speed and athleticism will dictate a different style of play.

" I plan on picking up the pace of the game a bit," she said. "I expect us to be more of a run and gun type of team. We have tremendous speed in the backcourt with Sofia, Abby, Alicia and Jordyn which I hope to utilize in more of a transition game and to apply full-court pressure. 

"We’ve got a great mix of kids who can knock down outside shots as well as get to the basket. We will hopefully be able to capitalize on our defensive pressure to create scoring opportunities."

Sophomore guard Abby Gallus (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Lack of size could be an issue and Chadwick says her front court players will have to be skilled in establishing good rebounding position.

"My expectation is that our speed will help negate any opponent's inside game," she said. 

Chadwick predicted Chanhassen and Chaska should battle it out for Missota Conference honors with Lakeville North the odds-on favorite to repeat as Section 1 champion.

"I think we can be competitive in both the conference and section," Chadwick said, "depending how fast we can ramp up."

Steve Speer is the new junior varsity/varsity assistant coach this winter with Joe McCarthy returning to coach the ninth grade team. 

Katie Buehlo and Jake Bauer share the eighth grade coaching duties while Mike Woody and Jon Ostgaard team up to handle the seventh grade coaching chores.

Farmington kicks off the 2012-13 campaign Tuesday, Nov. 27, with a non-conference game at Simley.

 

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