Dribbling down the court at full speed, her eyes focus on the hoop. Heart racing, she shoots the ball and the fate of the team leaves her hands. The buzzer sounds just as the ball sinks in. The team jumps up and down, cheering. Excitement floods her body, and the crowd goes silent.
Brooke Rose, sophomore, is on the girls varsity basketball team and has been playing the sport for most of her life. Rose said that the season is off to a good start, but the team isn’t getting the recognition it deserves.
“It’s a smaller crowd, mostly families, but we’d love to have more students coming in,” Rose said. “I think as the season goes on, [we will get more recognition.] I just think people need to find out about us and come to a game.”
Marissa Rhimes, senior, began playing basketball after watching her brothers play. She said she feels like the past few games have been very competitive and therefore should draw in a bigger crowd, especially at their district games.
“Last year when we played the first round of districts, we started off bad, but at halftime we talked without the coaches then we [came] together and ended up winning,” Rhimes said. “Sometimes, we [get noticed], but other sports get way more [recognition].”
Emma Appel, junior, said the team is overlooked. Although, the girls team has the most recent class five championship.
“The crowds are very small,” Appel said. “I go to the boys games when I can and [the atmosphere] is very different.”
However, Rose said the appreciation isn’t necessary as the current team has a special bond that will lead them to success with time. They are 1-1 in their season so far and are a young team, considering most of the team is new to varsity.
“We are a new team, two of our starters are completely new and I think the amount of support is really helpful [for them],” Rose said. “We are really starting to get to know each other. That comes with time, but the teammates are super supportive, [and] the coaches truly care about us and are super nice.”
Appel has also continued to play basketball after falling in love with the sport and the coaches, she is now on the varsity team. Last year, Appel played JV with most of her current teammates and said she thinks their past connections are allowing them to continue to improve on and off the court.
“The team is much newer this year, but I feel like a lot of us have come up from JV together.” Appel said. “It’s the same group, and I love that.”
