Culture of confidence leads in basketball

JOHANNA PIERACH THE RUBICON

Sometimes a fresh approach is just what is needed to shake things up. Or, in the case of girls varsity basketball, new players. The team has welcomed a multitude of new members this year, many of them young and less experienced.

“I think it’s great that we’re able to accommodate all levels [of skill],” junior Julia Taylor said. “It’s something unique that other teams aren’t able to apply to their teams that we are.”

Taylor starts as a point guard. Basketball is a sport that requires players to be in sync with each other and to form a community on and off the court. In the Jan. 13 game against Mounds Park Academy, the support between players was evident as they shouted to each other on the court and talked on the bench. Having such a strong sense of inter-grade connectedness is one thing Taylor appreciates..

“It’s just very mixed together. …I have friends in freshman year all the way to senior,” Taylor said.

Captain Naomi Kempcke, who has played on the varsity team since eighth grade, recalled a shift in the team mentality with the hiring of a new head coach, Willie Taylor, last year.

“He’s very supportive. He believes in everyone. And he does a really good job saying [things] like, ‘This might be tough, but you can