North Girls

Coach Brian Kaluza shared a great deal about his team and the process, with hours left until the first game!

What is the highlight of last season for your team?

We were able to play some pretty young athletes at the varsity level last year. We are hopeful that a year of experience for some of our younger players will allow us continue to build the foundation of our program. We did graduate 4 seniors, including All EDC selection and current Concordia Cobber Jennie Sem.

How do you plan on building upon what you taught your returning players last season?

We are looking to use a deeper bench this year and are hopeful we can play more bodies in our varsity games. We did get a few freshman and sophomores (now sophomores and juniors) some valuable varsity experience last year. We are hoping those experiences will lead us to better understand what it takes to compete in each and every game in the EDC. What effect do you think the lack of summer camp & extra workouts will have on your players?

We did our best to create some summer opportunities for our players. We were able to do some small group workouts outdoors during the month of June. It really did feel like a step back in time to when kids were developing their skills on the outdoor courts! Our small group sessions were heavily focused on skill development. During the month of July we were able to move indoors and work in slightly large groups. Again, our focus was on skill development and shooting the basketball. We have been able to hold open gym sessions this fall, but many of our athletes are also in fall sports and those players were focusing on the fall sports. I do think there will be a negative effect on players due to a lack of, and different approach to our off season development and conditioning. Add in that we will be wearing masks in our practices and it will be a challenging start to our season.

Who are some of the players who will need to step up to replace the ones that moved on?

We will be led by 2 returning starters from last year, junior Grace Miller at the forward position, and sophomore Arden Faulkner at the guard position. Both players are learning to be leaders in our program on and off the court. Additionally, Sami Sanford and Elly Weist will be senior guards that we are asking to take care of the ball and defend the basketball. We will have several younger players that we expect to be contributors to our varsity program. Junior Emily Skalicky (All EDC volleyball player), sophomore Reagan Carlson, and junior Julia Steiner will be valuable members of our varsity rotation. Is there a certain aspect of the game that you think will be the strength of your team?

We have several high energy players in our varsity rotation. We know that hard work is the expectation, but now need to understand that our decision making on both ends of the floor needs to improve if we want to be a competitive program. We should be a strong rebounding team with Grace Miller among the best rebounders in the conference. Who do you think the leaders for your team will be this season?

How have they shown leadership qualities to you in the past?

We have several players that have exhibited leadership qualities in our program. Our senior class of Sami Sanford, Elly Weist, and Hannah Johnson are all kids that are well-respected in our school and program. They set a great example of the hard work and buy-in that is necessary for all of the girls in our program. Arden Faulkner provides a level of toughness and competitiveness in our program that we are asking other girls to follow. In addition, we have several multi-sport athletes that we expect to be leaders for our program including Grace Miller, Emily Skalicky, and Julia Steiner. Is there anything else you would like people to know about your program or your players?

We are truly thankful for the opportunity to compete this season. Our girls have done everything that has been asked of them in order to give our program a chance to play this season. They are wearing their masks, socially distancing, and making decisions that give our program the best chance to play games. We are taking the season 1 day at a time and trying to take advantage of the time that we do have together. We understand there will be hiccups this season, but we need to be resilient and supportive of each other as we move through the unknowns of this season.