Lessons learned, lasting memories, game still lots of fun
It is easy to cheer for a winning team. Yet, what about those teams with wins that are few and far between? Hodgdon and Southern Aroostook girls are struggling through a rough season, with little fan base, but lots of heart.
The Hodgdon girls are winless and SACS has two wins to their credit, one against Hodgdon in a convincing fashion last Thursday, 63-38.
“It’s hard,” said senior co-captain Kennedi Smith of Southern Aroostook. “With only seven players, we cannot really go over plays during practice to get a better understanding of them.”
Senior co-captain Cassidy Lyons agrees.
“I knew going into this season that it would be a building year for our team, since we only had three girls come back from the prior season, said Lyons. “I did not think we were going to have a team for my senior year, I’m so grateful for the girls who decided to keep the program alive.
“We have low numbers and players who have had little to no experience on varsity-level sports,” she added. “We knew the cards were stacked against us, especially with our difficult schedule, but we motivate each other and always work hard in practice. We try to improve individually and as a team during practices.”
Hodgdon coach Taylor Quint noted vision was important to her team.
“We talked at the beginning of the season about who we want to be as a team, what that looks like and what is expected to get there,” she said. “I think in those discussions was the recognition of the fact we are a very young team with eight freshmen, one sophomore and one senior.”
Quint and company understand they are in the same place other teams have been before at one time or another.
“The difference lies in how hard we are willing to work, the sacrifices we are willing to make, and how we embrace the journey,” she added.
The Hodgdon girls may have suffered big losses this season, but they are on a learning curve.
“We learned some tough lessons and realized we had a lot of ground to make up,” Quint explained. “It isn’t going to happen overnight and it has been important to recognize this. Our skill level and experience is not where it needs to be.
“There are things we can control, however, such as our attitude, our focus, our intensity, how we care about each other and our commitment,” she added. “Each day, we have a choice to be the team we want to be in those areas and in doing that, we become one step closer to becoming the team we want to be. So, we take the good and build on it. The bad, learn from it. And the time, cherish it.”
Though numbers are not an issue for Hodgdon, they have been crucial in Southern Aroostook’s year, as they have played three games with as few as five players.
“I felt pretty confident we would have enough girls going into the season, but then in a matter of two weeks over the summer, we had a freshman starter from the previous season move to Hermon and then an incoming freshman, who probably would have started for us, moved to Hodgdon,” said SACS coach Cliff Urquhart.
That left only three returning players and only one freshman had shown any interest.
“We were in a major bind,” Urquhart explained. “The questions were, ‘Do we have a season and risk forfeiting if something happens since we don’t have enough to field a team? Or, do we roll the dice so that these girls can have a team to be on?’”
“We knew going into the season that we were not going to set the world on fire,” said Urquhart, “but we had set a team goal of improving and having fun; to not let the wins and losses dictate the enjoyment of the experience.”
“No matter what our record is, we always go on the court feeling confident and always positive,” said Smith. “As a captain, I am very proud of each and every player for sticking through a tough season. We never give up even if we are down by a lot, we always fight to the end of the game. We push through it and keep our heads up. No matter what happens on that floor, we always know how to make each other laugh.”
Lyons added, “Another source of motivation we have as a team is to prove we can compete and show our skills on the court even if the scoreboard says differently. We try not to focus on the score. We play hard until the end and set goals and strive to accomplish them. As a team we have a lot of skills, however, the low numbers make it hard to keep up with teams with a deep bench. I am proud of all of them for staying positive no matter what and making my final season of basketball a fun one.”
At times, the Southern Aroostook girls scrimmage the junior varsity boys to practice their plays and defenses.
“We have suffered some insurmountable losses,” Urquhart said. “We have lost games by 80, 50 and 40, but the girls somehow are able to keep smiling and never have quit in any game. I give the girls a lot of credit for taking these losses in stride. We have also had some games that we have competed in and even have won a game in which many people probably did not think we would do.”
The future for the Southern Aroostook program looks promising.
“There certainly is potential in the coming years,” said Urquhart.
“The players deserve a lot of credit in their perseverance; there is no lack of heart,” said Quint of her girls. “There is a huge mental side and the biggest struggle has been to get the players out of their comfort zone and be willing to take risks. But as for the grind of each day, we are having to believe in delayed gratification. That makes it hard for our lone senior, Hannah Sherman, who has given so much time and effort into this program. She makes each one of us a better person, player and teammate.”
Sherman added, “The underlying factors that the Lady Hawks value keep us motivated to continue to work hard. We all aspire for progress, which is something we can’t achieve without dedication and hard work on a daily basis. I couldn’t ask for a better team to spend my final season of basketball with. This group of girls is wholeheartedly committed to the sport they love.”
So, these girls’ teams are on a journey of sorts, maybe not for the gold ball, but for the memories they make along the way.
“These are special moments we won’t take for granted,” said Quint. “We are intentional in embracing the growth. We make it a priority to get better each time we come together and each time we step into the gym. We are blessed with a good support system that has bought into the program and encourages us.”
