The crowd goes silent. She shoots, she scores. Ladykat basketball season is right around the corner. With tryouts next week, the Ladykats are ready to begin the season.

Even though basketball is a winter sport, the girls have been training year round.

“The importance of pre season training is to make sure that the girls are in good condition and that they are strong enough to handle the daily practices physically and mentally,” head varsity coach Angel Kelley said. 

For the new people, it is important that upperclassmen be leaders on and off the court to set an example. 

“I look up to the upperclassmen quite a bit,” freshman Elle Wienecke said. “They are very helpful, especially when I make a mistake or do something wrong. They show me that it’s okay to make mistakes, but I have to keep pushing through.”

The girls have discussed their goals for the season and have high hopes.

“Us girls have talked as a team about making playoffs this year, so that has definitely driven everyone’s work ethic more and we are always competing for that starting spot,” junior Isabel Gonzalez said.

Tryouts and preseason training have shown the coaches who will be a good fit for the team and have shown the girls what the coaches are looking for.

“I look for a player that works hard day in and day out,” Kelley said. “One who prepares not only in the season, but is also willing to make themselves better, stronger, and faster. I want a kid that is coachable and accepts constructive criticism as well as praise.”

Covid-19 has limited the amount of pre-season games before district starts.

“Tournaments allow us to play several games in short amount of time so that we can build court team chemistry, but because of Covid-19 UIL decided we could not play in those games this year,” Kelley said. 

Freshman are starting to see the difference in highschool and middle school basketball.

“High school workouts are a lot more demanding than the middle school workouts, but they get you in better shape, and they are more rewarding,” Wienecke said.

Overall, the girls are ready to see their court competition and are ready to compete to win their games.

“It has been interesting so far, but I am excited to see what awaits the ladykats for this season,” Gonzalez said.