The eighth-grade girls’ basketball team was co-champion in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC) this year with a 15-1 record after beating Milford.
“My first reaction… was relief,” Aaron Smith, eighth-grade basketball coach, said. “We had worked so hard, and the girls deserved to have a moment like that. It was their last game together in the junior high gym and they went out in style.”
Smith has a certain way to prepare his team for future games.
“We watched a lot of game film and put together a scouting report on the teams we would be playing,” Smith said. “We prepared by working hard in the gym, but we also had to be mentally prepared.”
One of the most important parts of any team, no matter the sport, is the coach’s relationship with the players; it’s what can make or break a team.
“They trust me to make sure they’re prepared, both physically and mentally, for every game,” Smith said. “I trust them to be on time, to listen, to be coach- able and to go out perform up to the standard of the WHHS girls’
basketball program; I think that trust and that mutual respect went a long way toward our success.”
The players also affect how everyone plays. It is important for everyone to help each other and cheer on the other players.
“Coach Aaron and my teammates [helped me the most] because we are always so supportive of each other and get along very well,” Anna Mills, ‘30, said.
When players work hard, it’s rewarding to see all their hard work pay off. However, slip ups are still possible.
In a later tournament on Feb. 7, the team lost to Milford 39-29 in the championship game putting them in second place. Tournaments are generally filled with stress and excitement; it’s either you win or you go home.
“In the championship game against Milford, as a coach, I wanted to make sure our team had a clear game plan so they didn’t have to overthink, and I wanted to make sure they were focused and calm, even when we got behind,”
Smith said. “I knew our team would fight, [and] that our team would compete. We came up just short, but I have never been more proud of a group than I was of this team.”
It is easy to focus on a loss or a mistake while you are playing, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the mistake was; it’s how you come back and pick yourself up that counts.
“I would say avoid comparing yourself to other players; everyone is at a different part of their basketball journey,” Smith said. “The only person they should compare themselves to is the person they were yesterday.”