Winter Sports Preview
An inside look into the preseason of boys and girls basketball, wrestling and girls swim
Sara Gordley (12) on a fast break being chased by Dori Earle (11) at an early season practice.
November 30, 2020
Girls Basketball
Girls basketball season starts on Dec. 2 at Fort Zumwalt North.
“It’ll be a good game to see what our weaknesses are and where to improve,” Coach Joe Walterbach said. “I think we may surprise some teams this year.”
The girls’ program has been working hard so far this season, even though it’s been partially from home.
“We had to pause practices for 14 days, but when we do have practices, it’s going really well,” said Walterbach. “We are doing Google Meet practices, watching the film on HUDL, and learning plays through videos Coach Schumacher and I created.”
The team is adjusting to the circumstances and are still pushing to get ready for the season. Everyone has their own role on the team, but coaches are looking for seniors Toni Patterson, Sara Gordley, and Alyssa Frey to lead.
Girls Swim
Girls swim kicks off the winter sports season with their first meet on Dec. 2 against Lafayette.
“To prepare we are working to get the girls back into shape and making sure we have good starts and turns,” Coach Danielle Althage said.
In order to get in shape, the team has been working harder than ever. As struggles pop up unexpectedly, the program is working with what they can get, such as having virtual conditioning for those quarantined.
“The girls are having fun and enjoying seeing their teammates everyday, practicing the sport they love,” Coach Althage said.
The team is looking to their captains, seniors Mya Suftko and Aubrey McCain and junior Evan Worobec, to lead them this season in addition to seniors Livi Guffey, Anna Decker, and Caroline Myers.
“They have already taken the lead and do a phenomenal job,” Coach Althage said of her captains. Girls swim is glad to be back in the pool and looking forward to a successful season.
Boys Basketball
Boys basketball season starts on Dec. 8 with a home game vs. Timberland. The team is excited for the season, even with the current struggles.
“The biggest struggle is to know how to plan each day because I am not always sure who will be there,” Coach Chip Sodemann said. “It has forced me to simplify things which is not a bad thing at all.”
The team has been working everyday at practice, regardless of who shows up.
“All the guys in our program are playing hard and trying to get better everyday,” Coach Sodemann said.
Going into the first game, the program is looking to their upperclassmen to lead them.
“They have played on the varsity for a full season and know what to expect and how to prepare each day,” Sodemann said.
All sports are working hard to make the most of the season, even with the difficult circumstances.
Wrestling
The wrestling team returns four state out of their five state qualifiers from last year’s team: Wyatt Haynes (who took third place), Aidan Kelly, Jackson Ward, and Matt Craig.
“Our strength is our hard work and accountability,” assistant coach Kling said, who hopes to have “big seasons from our wrestling team.”
Early season practices are going well and the numbers are good.
“We’ve had some (athletes) miss to quarantine but we’re doing pretty good of pairing kids up,” Kling said. “We’re getting a lot of wrestling in, which is good at this point.”
The wrestling team is taking the necessary precautions to “keep everyone healthy and think it will work out in the end,” Kling said.
The team’s first matches of the season are a quad at Westminster on Wednesday, Dec. 2 followed by a match at Francis Howell North on Thursday, Dec. 3.
