On Friday, October 8, 2024, the Jones girls basketball team final roster was decided after three days of tryouts.
The coaches and players were hopeful during tryouts for the ability to find new talent and play the sport that they all love.
“Seeing all of my returners go really hard in tryouts, they haven’t missed a beat. Then, the new people coming to try out match the same energy levels,” said coach Anthie Katris.
The players from last season stepped up as they guided new players through drills and conditioning. The difficulty of tryouts came to light with the constant question of whether or not new players will match or even succeed the skills of varsity girls, and the effort they are willing to put in to get there.
“The unknown of the numbers, the commitment, and the talent. Something I was scared of turned into a really quick positive,” said Katris.
The returners feel the pressure of doing better than last season because tryouts were more intense than they had been in previous years.
“The hardest part of tryouts for me was the conditioning. We didn’t do that much conditioning last year but this year we have really picked it up because we are moving up a conference,” said Kylynn White ‘25.
The coaches want the girls to mesh well with the rest of the team, but it is also crucial for them to evaluate individual skills.
“I loved just being back with my team, like beating good teams like Depaul or even our cheers after someone scores,” said White.
A team sport like basketball makes tryouts extremely important because the coaches need to see which players work best together in order to build the best team chemistry.
“We made sure to incorporate drills that allowed us to evaluate individual skills as well as whole group-based play,” said Katris.
The tryouts mark a new beginning for the team. Both the team captain, Kylynn White, and Coach Katris are beyond excited to play more competitive teams and challenge themselves.
“I am really excited for these girls to see how good they can actually be because last year I saw them hold back, but now that there is more expected of them I want them to have their breakthrough season,” said Katrice.
