Seniors on the 2018-19 Marysville High School girls basketball team are pictured with new head coach Brooke Young. Young is the third head coach the seniors have had in four years of prep hoops. Pictured are from left, front row, Sydney Wade, Emily Daniel and Rachel Chesbrough; back row, Logan Brown, Anna Kinney, Young, Cassidy Francisco and Kennedy Welsh.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
––––
It can be extremely difficult for athletes on any level to become accustomed to a new head coach.
There are different offensive and defensive systems to learn, not to mention the personality of the new boss.
Now imagine that you are part of a senior group of high school athletes that must get used to not its second, but third new leader.
That’s what the seniors on Marysville High School’s girls basketball team are having to do during the preseason leading up to the 2018-19 campaign.
The Lady Monarchs will tip off the season a week from tonight (Nov. 27) during a non-conference game at neighboring North Union.
First-year head coach Brooke Young is the third program boss that seniors Cassidy Francisco, Emily Daniel, Kennedy Welsh, Sydney Wade, Logan Brown, Rachel Chesbrough and Anna Kinney have had in their years as Lady Monarch hoopsters.
The girls’ freshman season marked the final one of Andrea Hackett’s three-year stint as the head coach.
They then played under coach Mindy Eisnaugle for two seasons and will begin their final year of high school hoops with Young.
The girls recently sat down to discuss yet another head coaching change.
They all basically agreed it’s been a learning process.
“What I’ve learned is that I have to depend more on myself,” said Francisco. “I think it’s helped me become an independent leader for the team on the floor.”
“We’ve had to learn how to adapt since we’re with our third head coach in four years,” said Welsh.
“You have to learn to adapt to each new coach because they each bring a new mentality to the team,” added Daniel.
While the learning curve has changed over the years, there are some benefits to the coaching changes.
“I think it’s made us grow up together as a group and not just as individual players,” said Wade. “I also know I’ve changed from a point guard to a shooting guard and I think it’s made several of us more versatile players.”
“I’ve learned a lot from the different coaching styles,” said Francisco.
The senior post player, who said she wants to be a head coach someday, will get her start in coaching at a young age.
She will balance college studies while helping with the Lady Monarchs next year as an assistant coach.
The girls, as a group, said that while there has been some upside to the multiple changes, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride.
“It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve come together well,” said Wade. “We’ve been through these coaches together.”
“We’ve learned and accepted new ideas about basketball,” said Brown, who did not play as a junior.
Brown played as a freshman under Hackett and as a sophomore under Eisnaugle.
She skipped her junior season to concentrate on rowing for a Dublin-based club team.
That, she said, “wasn’t as much fun as basketball,” and returned to hoops this winter.
The seniors say they appreciate Young’s approach not only to basketball, but also life in general.
“She talks a lot about more than just basketball,” said Francisco. “She cares about how we are doing with our classroom work and how things are going for us at home.”
“She (Young) is what we need for our senior season,” agreed Welsh. “She cares about more than just basketball.”
“Coach is also helping prepare us for college life and wants to make us better people,” said Wade.
The seniors are unique in that they are the only girls whom Young has never coached within the Marysville system.
A former MHS varsity assistant coach, Young went to coach at Bunsold Middle School as the seniors were beginning their freshman seasons.
She coached the current freshmen through juniors on the middle school level.
“Everyone of our seniors brings positive energy to our program,” said Young. “As a coach, you can’t necessarily fix negative attitudes, but that’s something we don’t have to worry about.
“The girls are working hard and are working well with the underclassmen,” she said. “You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
The Lady Monarchs have flirted with .500 records the past three seasons. That’s something the seniors want to surpass for the upcoming season.
“As a group, we continue to fight hard in practice every day,” said Francisco. “We want to show the younger players that you can’t give up.
“We want to begin helping to build this program,” she said.
“We may not be here as it continues to build,” said Wade. “However, we will be excited to see where it goes from what we can accomplish this season.”