MIDDLETOWN — Without good health and with some roles a bit undefined, Shenandoah isn’t quite ready to return to its past state championship winning glory.

Last year the Raiders were 7-11, and this year they will begin with a hobbled crew.

“We’ve been hit hard with injuries and the flu,” said Shenandoah coach Todd Salkoski. “It’s been hard to have continuity in practice. We’ve got a solid group of five seniors.”

Those seniors are Emily Eller, Michelle Fites, Brittany Lyons, Leighann Pittsford and Jasmine Stephens.

“Fites is coming off (knee surgery) in September,” said Salkoski. “Stephens is trying to handle the point guard job. Eller has filled in a nice leadership role, and Lyons and Pittsford have been doing a good job.”

Jessica Starks graduated, and with her went most of the team’s outside scoring threat. Junior Rachael Harless is nuring a back injury. Sophomore Jessica Davenport along with freshmen Megan Chapman and Ashlee Pickett will be counted on in support roles.

“They’ve been working hard,” said Salkoski. “We need to play as hard as we can defensively.”



Madison-Grant

FAIRMOUNT — The Madison-Grant girls basketball team is getting a fresh start this year, but is not trying to forget all the recent accomplishments its is trying to build on. The past two seasons for M-G have been successful. So the new team and new coach will focus on improving that progress.

Coach Brad Fugett has taken over the role as varsity coach this year and is already excited about the promise the girls have.

“I think the future is very bright for the Madison Grant program starting with this season,” Fugett said.

While he has high hopes for the season, the practices have had a slight dismal start. Various girls have been sick and not able to practice while others were still competing in volleyball. Monday afternoon was the first practice where Fugett was able to have a full team workout. “Our first full team practice went good,” said Fugett. “A lot of our key players hadn’t touched a basketball since this summer, but it went better than expected.”

Fugett will be relying on those key players for strong defense, sharp offense, and big leadership this season. “One of our biggest strengths is that we have a core group of seniors that have been pretty successful these last two years and they’re showing great leadership already,” said Fugett. “They have a strong passion for trying to improve. They love basketball and they have proved they can be very good.”

Not only will Fugett be expecting strong efforts from the upperclassman, he is asking the underclassmen to be able to fill big roles as well. Fugett feels that the team’s strength is the upperclassmen’s leadership and he will be counting on that to bring along the freshman and sophomores that he will be making step up in their competitive levels. “We’re going to have freshman and sophomores having to play big roles. It’s going to be hard for them because going from the junior varsity level to the varsity level is a big chance because the speed of the game is faster and the margin of error is smaller,” said Fugett. “So where other teams wouldn’t ask their young players to do that, I am.”

Two key players this season will be Shelby Wells and Holly Jarvis. Both have been standouts on the team during their career so they are aware of the expectations that lay on their shoulders. “Shelby is going to have to contribute a lot and as a point guard she will have to have the ball in her hands, have strong leadership, good defense and put up some scoring for us,” said Fugett. “Holly is going to provide us with big shooting and we’re definitely going to ask a lot from her.”

As the practices start and games loom ahead, the Lady Argylls are excited about the potential their season holds and putting in the hard work to reach it. “The last couple of years they’ve won 13 games each season and they’ve graduated a lot of the girls,” said Fugett. “This team now is out to prove that this class can be even better. They come into practice working hard and putting a lot of effort into what they’re doing. They are really passionate about focusing on the little details, and that’s what’s going to make the difference.”

Daleville

For the past four years, defense has been a stronghold for the Daleville girl’s basketball team.

And why fix something that isn’t broken?

“Our defense is our main advantage over many of our opponents,” said head coach Jeff Wickersham.

After losing four senior starters last year, Wickersham acknowledges that his team is younger and less experienced, but is still potential-ridden. He also has the right idea on how to combat it.

Wickersham has been centering each practice around the concept of good communication: allowing the upperclassmen to voice their opinions about varsity ball and what to expect. He also readily relies on senior starter Cassie Eimmons for some guidance.

“She’ll provide a lot of good leadership for our younger girls,” he said. “She has basically been a starter for her entire career here and is a good role model.”

Wickersham also expects sophomore Shelby Spencer to have a standout year. Although she is a younger player, he knows she’ll step up her game and see more floor time this year.

“We’re just a very young team,” he said. “Starting off, I told the girls we just need to try to get better each day.”

Wickersham and his team work hard on improving their shooting and strengthening their already pristine defense. He also knows that their quickness and ability to shoot from the inside will be a big show-stopper.

“We’re not very tall, but we make it up in our hustle,” Wickersham said. “It isn’t easy to start all over, but my girls are ready for the challenge.”

The Broncos will host South Adams on Thursday at home to kick-off their 2009-10 season.