By Araceli Galarza Posted February 22, 2019
Larry Renteria is the freshman girls’ coach, but his previous years have been very different. This year, he has a smaller team with only six players, and with that came some changes to the way he coaches.
“I have had to change. We are a much smaller team in terms of players,” said Renteria. “We have fluctuated between 4 and 7, whereas we usually have 12. That has changed our approach in terms of aggression.”
Coach Renteria focused more on the pressure applied in the court and likes his players to be aware of themselves if they foul. With such a small team, Renteria needs them to focus on not fouling and keeping up stamina.
“I really like to have constant pressure on the entire court,” stated Coach Renteria. “We have not been able to do that as much because we have to be very aware of fouling and conditioning. Given that, we have been working on playing clean, efficient defense and focusing on keeping our hands straight up and not gambling on stealing the basketball with our athleticism.”
The girls, as a team, worked well together. This showed on the court with communication and how well the team has been doing.
“They (the girls) have been getting along, challenging each other, and working on effective communication on the basketball court. I know they will continue to learn and be able to contribute to a strong program next year. The team has been hungry for the opportunity and has been taking advantage of every game,” said coach Renteria. “For the majority of the competitions, we have risen to the occasion and done enough to get the win and feel good about our performance. However, there have been moments and games where we did not perform as well as we would have liked. Given that, we set goals as a team and individually, so that we continue to improve.”
The team sets goals as individuals and as a team to help the team strive and demonstrate determination to win. Kaytee Delaney had a lot to say about the season and the difference between junior high and high school basketball.
“The differences from last year to this year are that last year we had about 13 people on our team at the junior high, so not a lot of us had a lot of playing time,” said Delaney. “This year, since there were only seven of us, we had a lot of playing time, and we all got way better and worked together really good as a team.”
The coach is proud of the efforts of the players.
“As long as we work hard and put forth our best efforts, we can hold our heads high,” said Renteria. “The girls have been great, and I am very proud of each of them.”
