Casper coaches freshman A team to 19-0 start
January 15, 2016
By Ryan Molini, sports writer
The freshman A girls’ basketball team improved to 19-0 this week. Of those 19 wins, includes two championship games both in the York Thanksgiving tournament and in the Maine West holiday tournament.
Head coach Tim Casper’s most memorable win includes the championship game of the Maine West tournament against Mid-Suburban League East rival Buffalo Grove.
“We played really really well [that game],” Casper said. “That was probably the best we’ve played all season, so that was kind of exciting.”
Freshman guards Kayla Byrne and Amanda Behles both agree the team’s style of play and atmosphere is very exciting to be apart of as the group of girls is a close knit group that works well together.
“We get along really well and we all have good relationships,” Byrne said.
According to Casper, the team knew they were heading into a season of success beforehand, just not to the degree of 19-0.
“Did I think we would be 19-0 right now? No,” Casper said. “Did I think we would be about 16-3? Yes.”
Behles agrees with Casper that the fact that they are still undefeated is a little unexpected yet she knew too that they had an above average team heading into this season because of the team’s past together.
“I knew we would be good because we had all played feeder,” Behles said. “But, I didn’t know how good we would end up being.”
The noise the freshman team has been making has caught the eye of the head varsity coach of the program Gabrielle Lovin.
“It’s not just the varsity players that I think about and watch,” Lovin said. “I watch the freshman B [team]. I watch the freshman A [team]. I watch the JV [team]. It’s everything. It’s the future of this program.
Heading forward, neither Casper, Behles nor Byrne feel there is much pressure to finish the season undefeated.
“It’s fun. It helps the girls focus a little bit,” Casper said. “At the same time, trying to stay undefeated has not been a really big focus. I don’t think we go into games nervous about [losing our first game].”
