Sports

New Casteel girls basketball coach upbeat

BY ZACH ALVIRA

Sports Editor

Basketball was the way of life for Ryan Whitehorse growing up in Page, a small northern Arizona town near Lake Powell and the Utah border.

He grew up playing in youth leagues before enrolling at Page High School where he excelled on the court. He would routinely play in front of thousands, as high school basketball in northern Arizona and its reservations draw large crowds for just about every game.

He grew up with a winning culture and carried that on when he began coaching the girls team at Page once his playing career was over. Whitehorse found success in that position, too. But now, after five years leading the Lady Sand Devils and a year away to work toward a degree in nursing while living in the Valley, he’s ready to share that culture with Casteel High School as the new girls’ basketball coach.

“Going into Page, the program’s success and culture was already built,” Whitehorse said. “My job was to continue it. Casteel is a newer school. I want to be able to build that same culture we had from Page.

“It’s starting already with the coaching staff. We want to expose the girls to that style of basketball by incorporating the fundamentals.”

Whitehorse has been living in Phoenix for a year while attending the University of Arizona. While his primary focus was his education, he quickly began to miss coaching.

He thought about routes he could take to get back in the game but wasn’t sure which was best for him.

Then the job at Casteel opened.

He admits it was a “let’s go for it” moment. He didn’t expect much but hoped to at least land an interview to get a chance at impressing school Athletic Director Ryan Ridenour and the rest of the hiring committee. He did that, and more. He was publicly named head coach April 4.

“We started this process two months ago. I’ve met with multiple candidates and each of them multiple times,” Ridenour said. “Each time, he’s shown why he has been successful, and I think it is going to translate. It’s a different culture, here versus there, but at the same time, the things he speaks

Left: Ryan Whitehorse, who led the Page girls’ basketball team to three state championships and five total appearances in the big game, has been hired to lead the Casteel girls’ basketball program. Right: Whitehorse grew up in Page, a small town near Lake Powell and the Utah border. He coached there for five seasons before moving to the Valley to finish his degree in nursing. Now after a year, he aims to get back into it at Casteel, a school two conferences higher than where he used to coach. (Courtesy Ryan Ridenour)

Hamilton sophomore Catarina “CC” Maccagnano will be the only girl representing Arizona at Elite 11 in Las Vegas, a showcase for high school quarterbacks that has added girls’ flag football to the mix as the sport continues to grow across the country. (Dave

See WHITEHORSE on page 30

Catarina ‘CC’ Maccagnano preparing for Elite 11 showcase

BY ZACH ALVIRA

Sports Editor

Football has become a way of life for Hamilton sophomore Catarina “CC” Maccagnano.

She grew up listening to her father, Mike, share stories of his time at Glendale Community College. She’s been there as he continued his football career in a semi-professional setting with the Phoenix Phantoms, an adult team currently playing in the Arizona Cactus Football League held at Bell Bank Park in Mesa.

She’s become part of the team herself and has absorbed the terminology and everything else that comes with the game.

“With me playing and her being around me and my family, it helps her out and she learned a lot about the game,” Mike said. “It’s a part of our family. It’s something that she has sort of grown up naturally with.

“She works extremely hard. I’m proud of her.”

While football has always been there, so has softball. It was her first love as she played on various club teams in the East Valley and now plays junior varsity at Hamilton.

There was a time where she thought her father but her younger brother, Mike III, who is a freshman at Hamilton. She also worked with head flag football coach Matt Stone.

It took some convincing from Stone, but CC eventually gave in and went out for the team. It’s now opened a new realm of possibilities as the sport continues to grow.

“It took a little convincing but now I’m here and I love it,” CC said. “Even though I’m going back and forth (with softball), I love playing football. There’s so much competition in softball and in football I feel that I’m different from everyone else.

“Here, I feel like I can shine a little bit. Then with the Elite 11 opportunity, I knew I had to focus on this a little bit.”

CC was one of two girls from Arizona invited to compete in the Elite 11 regionals in Las Vegas. On May 1, she will join other girls from around the Western region in a showcase for female high school flag football players.

They will go through various footwork and throwing drills while competing for accolades from the camp’s staff. It’s also likely that college coaches will be in attendance as more and more schools are beginning to offer scholar-

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WHITEHORSE from page 29

about all translate to our kids.”

Whitehorse’s time at Page was filled with triumph and continuing to build a culture that thrives off community involvement and fast-paced play. “Rez ball,” as it’s referred to often, involves pushing the ball up the court at a fast pace and most importantly, wearing down an opponent with a high-scoring affair.

It’s something Page and other schools in northern Arizona have mastered as they routinely win or compete for state titles in the small-school conferences.

While leading his former high school, Whitehorse coached the Lady Sand Devils to a 117-23 record in five seasons. He was named Region Coach of the Year four times during his tenure and 3A Conference Coach of the Year three times.

Under his direction, Page made the state title game all five years, winning three times. The most recent title came in his final season in 2020.

Ridenour believes Whitehorse can find similar success at Casteel. Just four years ago, the Colts made a run to the semifinals. Two years ago, they were the No. 1 seed in the 5A tournament but were forced to forfeit their opening round game after a self-reported violation involving the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s prior contact rule.

“We’ve heard ‘family,’ we’ve heard ‘commitment,’ all the words that mean, ‘I’m all in,’” Ridenour said. “He is all in. There’s no doubt. One big thing I’ve always known in coaches is that winners win. It’s a different style of basketball but he will find a way. I think the brand of ball will be a change, but it will be a change for everyone that sees us.

“There’re some exciting times ahead. I think he is the guy that takes us to another level.”

While just recently announced as the new head coach, Whitehorse already has plans for Casteel.

He aims to establish a similar culture and style of play with the Lady Colts. He said he is bringing down a few of his assistants from Page to join him at the school.

Summer games, including tournaments, are already being planned. Whitehorse said he will try to take Casteel take a tournament in the four-corners region of the state. He also hopes to take them to Page’s annual holiday tournament in the winter.

He knows making the jump from 3A to the 5A Conference will be a learning curve with a slew of talented teams in the field every season. But it’s a challenge he feels he is ready for and one that he wants to face head on.

“There was some success in the beginning with Casteel,” Whitehorse said. “I want to build on that. I want to have that same type of success and culture we had at Page now at Casteel.”

ELITE11 from page 29

ships for startup flag football teams at the next level.

Casteel quarterback Cameron Anderson was also invited. But, as one of the top soccer players in the state, she is unable to attend due to a tournament. That leaves CC as the lone participant from Arizona.

She admits there’s some pressure from that, but she enjoys it. Stone believes she has nothing to worry about.

“CC is a microcosm of what is happening with flag football in this state,” Stone said. “I was watching the development of Elite 11 in Orlando a little over a year ago and I had a goal that in two to three years there would be one on the West coast that invites Arizona girls.

“Some of the coaches I’m friends with in Orlando called me up and I told them I had a girl with natural arm talent. (CC) doesn’t have the knowledge of some of those other quarterbacks, but she’s got better arm talent. All they have to do is see her and they’ll see her potential.”

CC credits her the support from her family for much of her success. She and her brother often workout with Mike at a local gym. Her mother, Stefanie Aguirre, shuttles her to and from various practices and games while cheering her on.

They’ve become the type of support system one would expect for a high school-aged athlete finding her way as she experiments with sports. CC knows she couldn’t do it without them.

“They’ve been so much help,” CC

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said. “My dad pushes me and pushes me and told me Elite 11 could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. My mom, too, she’s taking me everywhere. It shows me they’re there for me and it shows me I need to make something happen for them.”

Flag football has continued to grow on her with the success this season. Hamilton is currently undefeated and the top-ranked team heading into the CUSD flag football playoffs.

This year, for the first time ever, a trophy will be handed out at the end of the tournament. That has opened the eyes of other girls, most of which multi-sport athletes, as well as the state as more schools plan to create flag football teams for next year.

Stone is currently pushing for it to become a sanctioned sport by the AIA. So far, it seems to be going well.

The growth of the sport is what excites CC the most. That’s part of the reason why she has started to lean more toward football than softball for her future. But she hasn’t quite made that a final decision.

For now, she aims to use Elite 11 to not only further make a name for herself but to improve her craft. She knows she has the ability to be something special in the next two years, and she’s motivated to become the best version of herself she can be for next-level opportunities.

“This is my first year playing the sport and it’s like … wow,” CC said. “This is just my first year so what can I do next year and the following? It’s crazy to think I was given an opportunity.”