BASKETBALL is one of the main sports here at Granger, but unfortunately our girl’s team goes unrecognized. Basketball season begins around the winter time and lasts into the springtime. People often go and watch these games, especially to support their friends.

Basketball is just another way to get students hyped to play or maybe even watch the games. It is also another way that someone can get scholarships for their dream college that they want to go to. Cierra Olsen (12) is on the girls basketball team. “Learning life lessons in sports and knowing what a nice person I can be is something that is important to me,” Olsen said.

Although girl’s basketball isn’t well recognized, it requires the same effort as all the other sports. “I have been playing basketball ever since I was ten years old,” Olsen said.

As an athlete, people may think about why they have the desire to play the sport.

Often times, setting a goal for playing may be the only desire. “Focusing on school and wanting the desire to play is very important,” Cierra said.

Another hard working athlete is Samra Mehmedovic (12). “Being on the basketball team pushes me to better my limits,” Mehmedovic said. Sometimes athletes have a hard time with things that they need to work on or things that they have achieved. “My strength is being a good team leader and being strong, and my weaknesses are getting irritated faster,” Samra said.

Knowing the person that inspired athletes to play is probably one of the most important things to some athletes.  “The person that inspired me to play basketball is Darren Williams, who has also played for the Utah Jazz team,” Samra said.

Mrs. Smith is Granger’s head coach for the girls basketball team. “Basketball is more rooted more in life lessons. Learning about more opportunities is important as an athlete. Not learning life lessons is equal to not being successful in basketball, but all of these things also carry over to education,” Mrs. Smith said.

There are lots of things that coaches like to improve on. Some might be teaching their players how to play on the court, and others may be focused on how to deal with life.

“I plan on improving every year, but every year is also completely different than previous years. I can’t expect to use the same ethics with these girls who have different personalities. I also hope to build cultural development and to also build athletes to fight through whatever they are going through,” Mrs. Smith said.

Coaches are just like everyone else. Being a coach, they also have strengths and weaknesses as well. “Putting on a good game is a strength, but one thing that can be a strength or a weakness is leading with compassion, or showing tough love towards the players when they need it. Especially because I’m too nice of a person it can be tough,” Coach Smith said.

Judy Ahio (11) is on the varsity girls basketball team. “One of my short-term goals is getting back to my speed and something that the coaches can do to help me achieve this goal is getting me to condition more and more,” Ahio said.

As athletes, thinking about goal setting is something very important. These students want to reach for certain things during their time playing on the team. “I have goals to be an all-around athlete. What that means is I want to play all the positions there are in basketball,” Ahio said.

As an athlete there comes achievements, which are what can motivate an athlete to do good on the court. Sometimes these achievements make the players want to do better while playing. “One of my biggest achievements that has happened to me during basketball season was probably making it on the varsity team as a sophomore,” Oseola Pauni (11) said.

Being an athlete may be hard when it comes to balancing sports and school work. Sometimes focusing on school can get in the way of playing on the court. Other times, playing the sport will get in the way of doing one’s school work. “Honestly balancing school work with athletics is not hard, it’s only hard because of procrastination. If I don’t procrastinate then it wouldn’t be so bad being in basketball,” Pauni said.

As an athlete people start to develop plans and goals for themselves that they want to accomplish. Some may set a goal to play college ball and others may set a goal as high as being a professional.  “I have plans as an athlete to work my hardest to get scholarships,” Oseola said.

Ms. Miller is Granger’s JV coach. “Being a coach is significantly a good way to grow a relationship with the athletes. Also building a relationship that won’t stop at a high school basketball game but will go beyond the game of basketball. When I build a relationship it will last forever. Often times I still connect with my players who have moved on to college or moved on with their lives,” Ms. Miller said.

As coaches start to build some of the best and some of the worst memories during games, it’s a good way to know what has to change. “Some of the best memories that I gain as a coach with my players doesn’t have to do with winning a game. The best memories are more so the relationships that I get to build with them and seeing them get the scholarships that they’ve wanted and also having my best friend coach alongside with me,” Ms. Miller said.

Coaching can be difficult. When coaching, it all depends on how the coach feels the players are doing on the court. Each coach has their own ways of coaching each player.

“The reason I coach the way I coach is because I have been playing so long and I have the experience as a player that I can show towards other players,” Ms. Miller said. Sometimes the coaches can be really tough towards the players. “I also coach the way I coach because basketball is a passionate sport for me,” Ms. Miller said.