After shadowing Parker last winter and having difficulty finding girls’ basketball on the school’s calendar, I went to watch a boys’ basketball game. The fans began clapping as the boys ran out onto the court…boys, that is, and one girl.

There was no girls’ team last year.  Paris Rosenthal, a senior last year, was the only girl interested in dedicating two hours a day to practices, full nights for games, and an entire five months to basketball. She was also the only girl invited to play on the guys’ team. Without her leadership or presence on the girls’ team, the numbers dwindled to none.

Coming from Kentucky, a huge basketball state, I found it strange to hear that there wasn’t even an intramural option at Parker last winter for girls’ basketball, much less a team.

Rumors about girls’ basketball this fall haven’t been the kindest around Parker, most suggesting there again wouldn’t be a team, and if there was, how “awfully” they’d perform. But I’ve played basketball since I was four, for fun, and I was in no state of mind to give up on the sport because of a slight reputation and numbers issue.

A meeting was held in room 284 on October 8th to discuss the possibility of a team. To my surprise, fourteen girls showed interest, some representing friends who would play if they did. Shorter, less frequent practices were suggested to encourage more fun and participation.  Some suggested the creation of new traditions to keep the program alive.  

“Basketball in the past has required a lot of time with little outcome, and that has been a huge factor as to why we haven’t had a lot of interest in the last few years,” senior Marlee Neff said. “It’s frustrating.”

The program was in a tough position.  If we didn’t practice enough, we’d run the risk of losing badly to schools like us. Defeat leads to frustration, which would cause many not to play next year, or worse, to quit halfway through this season. Losing every single game isn’t fun, sure, but neither is intense practices two hours every day after school.

The coaching staff for this season were specifically selected to develop and improve a new program. Head coach Alexandra Barone, who played collegiate basketball at Saint Xavier and overseas in Bonn, Germany, was a practice player for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. Assistant coach Troy Hambric played at Loyola University under coach, and WNBA all-star, Sheryl Swoopes–and a season overseas in Puerto Rico. The other assistant coach, Alix King, also has a strong background: she’s coached the last two years, while maintaining a successful print company. Her goal this season is to leave the team with more confidence on and off the court.

A season that began with 15 girls, many of whom were on the fence, has progressed in just two weeks to 15 players with a newfound love for basketball. With the encouragement and determination of Coach Alex, Coach King, and Coach Troy, girls’ basketball at Parker has been rejuvenated and strengthened. Even Athletic Director Bobby Starks and Assistant Athletic Director Laura Gill sometimes attend and participate in practices to keep us all engaged, learning, and having fun.

The team receives frequent emails from Coach Alix in which she draws out new plays to assist in their memorization and performance. In one of these emails was the newly implemented tradition of a quote of the week, keeping us mentally motivated in progressing to be the best we can be.

“‘You’ll miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’. This is the well-known quote that I presented to the girls this week,” Alix said recently in an email to the girls’ parents. “I believe a lot of your daughters were concerned with a failing program and not being ‘good’ enough . . . I explained to them that just having courage and the heart to play for a program that has failed times before is a success. To have the girls come in day in and day out and work as a unit is a success.”

From girls who have never touched a basketball to girls who have played their whole lives, we truly have come together to form a successful girls’ basketball team, regardless of the final record this season.