By Kikilia Kojin
Coached by Dennis Welch, the girl’s basketball’s first practice starts November 28th everyday after school and the first game is December 10th against Nikiski at home. There are not tryouts, since no one gets cut. So far there are twenty four girls interested in playing on the basketball team and there will be three different teams: Varsity, JV, and the C-team, but there will only be one practice.
The girls basketball team is young, so Welch plans to prepare for it. Pre-conditioning – after school on Mondays and Wednesdays and 2-3:30 p.m. on Sundays – pressing, and defense are just a few things he is planning to concentrate on. “We’re looking to get better, get in shape, and I hope to keep improving. I hope to keep improving. It’s the number one goal,” Welsh reported. Basketball tournament and trips have been planned, including to Nome and Seward, but money will need to be raised to pay for all of this.
Fundraising this year will include a banquet and auction on November 19th. The girls basketball team raises enough money during this time to pay for all expenses, including bus travel, referees, and hotels rooms, which comes to a total of $8,000.
The team will be in the same division, 4-A, this year and next year they will move down to 3-A. “4-A is for a school with 500 or more students. We wanted to go in a lower division for a while, but they wouldn’t let us because it just takes a long time for change,” explained girls basketball coach, Dennis Welch.
Their most challenging competitors this year are Wasilla, who are defending state champs, and Soldotna. “I want us to get better in every game, in good condition, and have success,” Welch concluded.