A young Glacier Bears girls basketball team is taking the court this season, and coach Greg Brittenham said his more experienced players are stepping into leadership roles for incoming freshmen and rookie sophomore players.
“We lost players that have been contributing for four years,” Brittenham said of last year’s graduating seniors. “We’ve got five players returning and they’ve taken on the role of teaching the young ones, seven new players, a little bit about the system and what’s expected. A lot of leadership qualities are really shining right now.”
Returning players Marissa Haddock, Becca Wheeler, Haley Boron, Raine Winge and Megan Whitermore will lead this year’s team. Brittenham said the team has speed and a strong inside game. “We’ve got people who can run the court and that might allow us to press a little bit more this year and get out on fast breaks.”
Haddock, team captain, said many of the incoming players are fast, and their camaraderie is already showing. “Even though it’s the beginning of the season all the girls are friends and we work well together,” Haddock said. She said most of the freshmen learned fundamental basketball skills in middle school, and are learning new plays with their new team.
Freshman Avery Williamson said she’s excited to play high school basketball, and that she already feels like she has a home on the team. “We’re working on defense, boxing out and rebounding,” Williamson said. “I like the team. Everyone’s real nice.”
At practice this week, Brittenham said he’ll focus on instilling basketball fundamentals and grit. While his team lacks height, players displayed scrappy resolve at an exhibition tournament in Whitehorse where they went 2-2. “Our shortest player on the team boxed out a girl who was about 6 feet 2 inches,” Brittenham said. “Height doesn’t really matter as long as we have the toughness and the skills.”
The girls will face Craig on Dec. 17 and 18, and Brittenham said he expects their team to come out with fast guards and full pressure on the court. “I think they’re going to be a running team,” Brittenham said.
Glacier Bears boys’ coach Steve Fossman said his young team will also begin the season with a well-developed fundamental knowledge of the game.
Four freshmen, Kai Dixon, Zander Willard, David Strong and CalebHolm, are joining the squad, all of whom have played in the middle school’s Community Youth Development League coached by former Haines basketball players Chris Dixon and Kyle Fossman. The Bears will largely be led by junior Kirby Faverty and sophomores Wesley Verhamme, Mark Davis and Carson Crager. The Bears will be without two strong starting co-captains Dylan Swinton and Hudson Sage who graduated last year.
“In general, our team this year is very young,” Steve Fossman said. “Our so-called veterans are sophomores. We’re not a big team so that’s going to be our challenge. We’ll put an emphasis on rebounding. If we can do that, we’ll be really competitive in the league.”
Fossman said many of his players are solid shooters who can play a fast-paced game and put points on the board. Davis, who shined as a point guard last year, is a solid ball handler whose skills allow other players to find open shots and move the ball on the offense. During scrimmage games in Whitehorse last weekend, Fossman said Faverty played strong and shot well. Davis said Faverty grew since last year and “showed that he’s a really good threat and can score down low.”
Verhamme didn’t play in the scrimmages because he was wrestling in the regional tournament in Juneau and Crager is out with an injury. The open spots allowed the four freshmen to get court time and valuable experience during the scrimmages. “They’re doing well,” Fossman said. “One thing we’re trying to emphasize is defense. They showed a lot of knowing where they are on the court and being in the right place. They know how to do that, and we’re building on that.”
Junior Cade Clay is returning to the team. Clay’s ability to motivate and lead the younger players will be helpful, Fossman said. The team will rely on Verhamme’s strength to box out and pull in offensive and defensive rebounds, as he did last year as a freshman. “Wesley is our big guy,” Fossman said. “He’s not tall, but he’s a real strong fundamental guy underneath. If he draws a double-team, he can find shooters on the perimeter.”
Verhamme said he doesn’t care about scoring points or finding assists, but wants to box out the bigger rebounding players from other teams. His goal is to grab 12 rebounds every game, he said. “That’s something I can do,” Verhamme said. “That’s something I can get better at.”
Fossman expects the Craig team to push the ball, run hard and play a fast-paced game. Verhamme will be playing, but it’s unknown if Crager will be fully healed by game time. Fossman expects his team to put up a solid fight. “A lot of people are excited to watch this young group,” Fossman said. “They’re exciting to watch.”