GSIS 10 Year Anniversary Yearbook: Memories | Page 201

1. Olena Vasyltsova moves into open space to receive the ball on an inbound play. Her movement gave the team another possession to score a basket. 2. Joanne Lee bounces the ball before making a pass to Sarah Kim during the pre-game shooting drill. Pre-game shooting drill gives the players opportunities to shoot and get warm for the game. 3. Coach Jenkins points to the court to help visualize where to pass and move. Coach Jenkins does this since diagrams on the white board are not enough to fully communicate tactics and plays. 4. Coach Coleman advises Teri Park to keep her hands up high to maximize her height. Teri Park plays post and her tall height gives her advantage over other post players. 5. Jackie Kim looks to shoot over Olena Vasyltsova during a 1-on-1 drill. 1-on1 drill develops the player’s defense skills and the ability to make tough shots. 6. Cindy Kang makes a pass over the defense to Teri Park, who was ready in the paint. She continued to feed the post throughout the game for a closer shot. 7. Kaili Brumsickle drives to the basket for a left-hand layup. She joined the team this year and was a huge contribution to the team. 8. Cindy Kang practices her free throws during practice. Free throws can be the winning factor in very close games. 9. Janice Min shouts out an inbound play to make a pass from the sideline. Communication is key in successfully executing passes and winning the game. 2 1 6 With year after year of changes and development, the girls varsity basketball knights reached its eighth session. Despite the annual changes of girls varsity basketball players, coaches, staff members and fellow students consistently supported the team every session. The girls varsity basketball started strong by claiming first place in 2008-09 KAIAC division tournament. Afterwards, GSIS entered the first division in KAIAC in 2010. Ever since this change, the team faced numerous challenges, including the entry to a more challenging division, the loss of star players, and the change of longtime coaches. Likewise, the girls varsity basketball team confronted challenges. Following the departure of few key senior players from the previous session, the girls varsity basketball team has no senior player with many new coming members, resulting in a rather inexperienced team. Despite these challenges, the girls varsity basketball team was able to thrive by building an inseparable bond 5 4 3 7 between the players and coaches. When asked about the absence of senior players, sophomore Sarah Kim responded, “Not having any senior players in our team was hard, but it is what keeps us more together. We felt more motivated to help each other out and build tight teamwork.” The players also took action during practices to strengthen their weaknesses and enhance their strengths. Teri Park, junior, explained, “We did a lot of drills to improve individual skills like passing and dribbling. We also focused a lot on connecting our passes with each other.” She continued, “The combination of simple skills was important to win in matches.” “We would help each other get back up and start playing again. We just kept on going no matter how bad the situation was or what happened”, said Sarah. 8 9 Along with the players, the coaches also supported the players with the best of their abilities. Sophomore player Olena Vasyltsova acknowledged the coaches’ efforts to guide the players to victory. “Mr. Coleman would often come late in his work clothes with a full suit, but he would jump right in and start guiding us to play well.” Olena added, “Coach Jenkins was a very supportive and encouraging coach. She was even too kind the point where I felt like she should be more mad and critical towards us.” The session ended with the girls placing third in the tournament. “It felt like a session of growth, because we would win one game, but lose another game. But I feel like we were able to reach our limits and try again and again,” said Teri. 201 NEW_GSIS Yearbook-USS_Part 4.indd 201 4/17/16 8:40 PM