Ready for change
by Bridget Cooke
With a rocky season behind them and a fresh start to look forward to, the Osseo-Fairchild girls basketball team is ready to begin their time on the court, starting with an opener at home against Cadott on Tuesday night.
Looking to improve from a 5-17 overall record in the 2013-14 season, the team is hopeful to turn around the image of their less than stellar ratios of wins over losses. Four seniors have taken the reins, including Amanda Pederson and Wynonah Filla, and head coach Hailey Zawacki is confident the team effort to improve will turn some heads in the tough West Cloverbelt Conference.
“We have strong leadership this year,” Zawacki said. “They’re good, they’re dedicated; they’re working hard. I think we’re going to upset a few teams this year.”
Facing the loss of a point guard and active offensive player with the graduation of Amanda Gilbertson, the team now has Filla and junior Katie Barney to lead and steer the Thunder in the right direction for the upcoming season with confidence handling the ball at the top of the key.
Zawacki also named Nicole Pralle as a force who has worked hard to improve during the off-season to become stronger under the hoop.
A big factor the Thunder will see as a mark of success is shifting away from their losing record of yesteryear and racking up victories instead of being perceived as the flailing squad. Knowing their team is seen as unsuccessful has motivated them going into this season, with more mental preparation as they take to the court for the 2014-15 season.
“It affects us mentally,” Pederson said. “Right now, we have the record of not having the good record, so I think we’ll work harder.”
As a goal, they have hoped to become more powerful in their trek to a higher number of victories. Filla and Pederson also said they see potential in the 11 freshmen players and hope to aid the younger athletes in training as a way to help the future squad in success even after they are gone.
“I think we’re going to try to get bigger and stronger as team, with a bigger emphasis on the weight room this year,” Filla said. “I [also] think more so developing our younger girls, developing their skill level.”
The biggest change Filla and Pederson noted was the change in speed of the Thunder out on the court.
“We’re going to have a faster offense this year,” Filla said. “We’re going to use that to our advantage, push the ball.”
Younger players are a happy addition for the Thunder, as they hope to utilize the large number of freshmen--who outnumber every other grade level and tie the total number of sophomores to seniors combined--as a way to improve their offense with a few players either happy at the helm of plays or strong under the basket, and are set as the sign of a bright future for the Thunder team in upcoming seasons as well.
Looking to start off strong, Zawacki said the team is excited to begin the season with a home opener against Cadott on Tuesday evening beginning at 7:30 p.m.
