Experience expected to make Rocket girls a contender in ECC

With age comes experience, says the motto. And with six seniors on the Spencer girls basketball team this year, the Rockets have it in bucketloads. Armed with a special camaraderie that only comes with years of playing together and a knowledge of the sport, the Rockets are expecting to do very well this season.

There are 10 girls on the basketball team this season, the majority being seniors. Coach Krystal Weier has been here before, with last year’s team, but she said this year, there is something a bit more special about the squad.

“This year’s team, we got the talent, very senior heavy, but they are one of the best teams I have coached,” she said. “They listen, and their basketball IQ is phenomenal. I’m really excited to see how they grow this year.”

The team’s skills have been clearly evident to Weier as they have played their first games. Since the team has so many seniors, she said it was an inevitability that they would have learned by now how to play effectively together. That skill, she said, is one that cannot be taught overnight, but is rather engrained into the players over years of playing together.

“This team is kind of similar to last year, but these girls have been playing for years,” she said. “Their team chemistry is awesome, you can’t coach that. They have skills. In the first couple of games, they were great. It showed the team’s talent very well. Afterwards we were able to go in and nitpick what they did and what they can do to improve.”

Being able to critique their own work, Weier said, says a lot about the maturity of the team as well as their understanding of the game. With their knowledge, she said the team is making adjustments to better control the ball and move beyond the basics.

“It’s just the small things,” she said. “We are working on rebounds and plays. In high school, you shouldn’t be focusing on the fundamentals, they should be focused on other aspects of the game.”

The seniors on the team this year are Emily Wehrman, Jorie Meyer, Heavyn Kind, Madison Knecht, Rebecca Mlsna and Amber Becker. Sam Soback is the team’s only junior and LeeAnn Lang and Claudia Krause are the sophomores on the team. Hallie Meyer is the team’s freshman.

As for the rest of the season, Weier said the Spencer team is hoping to be able to have a solid season and place near the top of the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference. They have the talent to do it, she said, and by working to improve every day, they can make it happen.

“Our conference is pretty good, but I hope we can be near the top,” she said. “We have been doing better so we have a shot. The goal is to improve every week and every day. Go one game at a time.”

The Spencer girls have played five games so far this season. Their next games are at home against Stratford on Dec. 9, on Dec. 10 against Greenwood, at Lincoln on Dec. 14 and back at home on Dec. 16 against Loyal.

Members of the Spencer girls varsity basketball team are (front from left), Sam Soback, Amber Becker, Claudia Krause, Rebecca Mlsna, (back) LeeAnn Lang, Madison Knecht, Heavyn Kind, Jorie Meyer, Hallie Meyer and Emily Wehrman.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO