The Lady Indians of Hillsboro High School will have somewhat of a rebuilding year this year, with only one returning varsity letterman, Madison Snyder. However, according to coach JR Moberly, some things that were able to be done last year in the program will help with that process.
“We were fortunate last year to play all of those freshman at the jayvee level,” Moberly said. “They had a really nice season as well. We’ve blended them in with Madison Snyder and Madison’s worked hard to help those kids understand how things work and what their responsibilities are. It hasn’t been real bad because we had all these kids in our program last year. Certainly we’ll miss the girls that left, but I think we have a real good talented group of freshman and sophomores to build with.”
Moberly also explained that, overall, his team will have a very similar gameplan, but will also be different.
“We’ll be similar gameplan wise, but there will be different focuses just because of personnel,” Moberly explained. “We’re a little bigger than we were last year overall, so we’ll try and be a little more post oriented compared to last year where we tried to get our guards to drive the ball to the basket more often. We’re hoping to have more scoring from our post players and to do better on the boards as well.”
Madison Snyder, the lone captain of the team, will be leaned on as a leader, albeit more by example than vocal.
“Madison is a great example for the younger girls in the program,” Moberly said of his captain. “She works hard every day and doesn’t complain about anything. She’s been in the program a long time and knows what’s expected. She’s a quiet leader. We’re constantly on her to try and be a little more vocal but that’s not her and that’s okay because she leads by example and the kids respect her.
I think the SCOL is going to be pretty balanced. There were a lot of kids lost to graduation throughout the league, but there were a lot of good young kids in the programs too.
“I want these girls to go out and compete every night and I think if they go out and play hard, limit their mistakes, and take care of the basketball, then we’ll be in a lot of games and win our fair share. I am really pleased with the effort they’ve put forth so far. We have a lot to work on and a long way to go, but we’re starting with a good foundation and the kids have had a great attitude. It should be fun and exciting. It’s going to be frustration at times, but every season is at some point. I have no idea what the expectation are for our girls are outside of our program but we expect to compete every night with a chance to win them.”
Reach Robert Stegbauer at 937-393-3456 ext. 1679 or on Twitter @RStegbauer.
