The tune of the band plays in the background. The shiny blue and silver pom-poms of the POMS team wave around in the air with perfect synchronization to their dance moves. The Craig Cougar dances alongside the Craig Cheer Squad. The bleachers are packed with Craig students of all ages. The front of the bleachers are packed tightly with cheering students. Every once in a while, you’ll hear a loud chant from the crowd. In the background is the booming voice of the announcer. The air smells of popcorn and wooden bleachers. You can hear the shoes squeaking against the shining court. You can hear the rumble of feet sprinting across the floor. You are at a Craig basketball game, caught up in the anticipation of the crowd.

The Girls Varsity basketball team started their season with a bang, with two conference wins, one being against crosstown rival Janesville Parker and the other against Beloit. Despite losing their third game, the Cougars flexed their muscles in a close score of 44-47 against Verona, who is one of the favorites for the conference title. But the success of the Cougars stems from a process far more mundane. Routine.

Before practice even starts, the players are taught the value of patience; alternating the main gym daily with the boy’s varsity has proved quite inconvenient for all involved. But nonetheless, “they come to practice and they work their tails off. I mean they work hard” said the coach.

A typical practice for the Cougars consists of a dynamic warm-up, core exercises, ball handling, one-step shooting, team drills, full court drills, and a 5-on-5 scrimmage. The practice will usually end with a shooting game. The athletes learn to put more on the line in practice with competitive drills and free throws.

The starting line-up consists of Senior Emily Pierson, Juniors Brooke Parkhurst, Hannah Dunlavy, Rileigh Elgas, and Sophomore Claudia Fieras.

The Varsity team consists of athletes with different athletic backgrounds ranging from cross-country to soccer. Coach Storbakken breaks down his training into three different aspects in order to best help all of the athletes. The three aspects are conditioning, fundamentals, and team. In order to compensate for the team’s lack of height, the training of the athlete’s aerobic systems needs to be greater than their competitors. Conditioning is one of the team’s keys to success.

In addition to training modifications, the style of play required to be successful in a game is quite different. In order to compensate for the lack of height, the team tries to play more physical, be quicker than most teams (through the conditioning from practice), press when necessary, get the ball up for the first open shot, and focus on good defense.

Coach Storbakken cites how the team plays in each game, saying, “Speed, quickness, hustle, play with heart, [and] play together.”

The Cougars attempt to use their lack of height to their advantage by playing fast and outrunning other teams. The team also focuses on rebounds, easy baskets, and greater shooting accuracy. The Cougars increase the effectiveness of their defensive by pressing other teams. Defensively, the Cougars use a man-to-man defense which is the most effectively utilized in teams who have stellar conditioning.

This year, the team has suffered offensively, with the loss of starter Cassie Goswick, who is out for the season with an ACL injury. Goswick was the team’s leading 3-point scorer. Although she is unable to play, Goswick still contributes to the team.

“You’re never going to replace a Cassie. You’re going to miss her…She’s a great kid, a great player, comes to all of the games and still plays a big part in the team,” commented Coach Storbakken.

Coach Storbakken has developed his coaching philosophy throughout the years by attending clinics and by utilizing effective strategies from other coaches and has tweaked it with the abilities of his players. His philosophy of a successful basketball team involves extensive conditioning, pressing other teams, and using man to man defense.

Coach Storbakken said his coaching philosophy is intended to, “give them (the players) the best chance to perform, win games, and play well.”

Alongside Coach Storbakken is a coaching staff of six coaches which have added input and valuable assistance needed to be successful. The coaches help to organize the team, help with player development, record the games, take statistics, and most importantly coach the athletes and help them grow as individuals.

“Me being the head coach, I take a lot of input, and then I have the final say, but all these coaches put in a lot of time. They value the program. They really have their heart in the program,” said Coach Storbakken proudly.

One of the new assistant coaches, Amy Parkhurst, has made an impression on the athletes. As the girls’ long-time basketball travel team coach, many of the players are happy to see a familiar face. The players cited that Coach Storbakken focuses more on scrimmage and team play, while Mrs. Parkhurst helps with shots and individual techniques.

Praising the new coach, Two-year Varsity Starter Rileigh Elgas said, “I think she has a really good impact on our team. She’s really easy to talk to. She’s a very good coach and she knows a lot about shooting which a lot of us need help with and she knows a lot about the sport.”

The team sees their new coach as family, with 2-year Varsity Starter Hannah Dunlavy saying, “I love Amy. Amy coached us all growing up so we all know [her] and it’s good to have a familiar face. She knows us really well so she can pick out individual things to help us with that we’ve always struggled with.”

Routine has helped to develop strong team chemistry among the players. The group of juniors that compose the bulk of the team has been playing together since they were little and playing YMCA basketball.

“We’ve been close before, but with basketball, we see each other every single day,” commented Sarah Gregg. Rileigh Elgas added to this, saying, “It’s basically been the same team every year (of high school), so we keep getting closer and closer and we’re like a family, like sisters. We’re super close and we can trust each other.”

Over the years, the majority of the team has stayed the same, allowing for lasting memories and traditions. One of the players recalls one of her favorite memories being TP’ing the coaches houses before the first day of practice.

“Freshman year we TP’d the coaches before our first practice and that’s always fun. We always go together to Walmart and get the toilet paper and the seniors would drive us. It was just so fun,” said 2-year Varsity Starter Brooke Parkhurst with a smile.

Beating Parker is a lasting memory in the 2018-19 season, and beating Middleton twice is the crowning accomplishment of the 2017-18 season.

“It was special because we’d never beaten them so I never knew how it felt, but we were all so happy and so excited,” said Brooke Parkhurst. Hannah Dunlavy added, saying, “It was really good to beat them in a conference game and we wanted this for a long time. It was coming.”

In addition to the thrill of winning games, the team does many annual activities and traditions.

Before every game, the team goes to eat pasta together. Before the basketball game starts, the girls have a “hype chant” before they take the floor, getting them all excited to play. And to top the excitement, the spotlight shines on the starters as they are introduced one by one. The starters have a new handshake every game to keep things exciting. After a win, the team goes out to eat or has a sleepover at one of the players’ houses. The team celebrates Christmas together with a Secret Santa.

“I think team chemistry is huge. Those juniors are really close. And then you add in seniors and sophomores and freshmen and it’s just a great group of kids. I really enjoy going to practice and working with these kids. They really work hard, they get along, and they’re good basketball players too,” said Coach Storbakken.

The steady routine and team chemistry of the varsity team has allowed them to develop and become stronger and to face change and adversity with a game face. The addition of new coaches helps to fine-tune the team’s abilities. With a new year of basketball, a new team is crafted. This year, several new players joined the team including Kate Huml and two other freshmen.

“They’re awesome, I love all three of them. They’ve just joined the team and they’re some of my best friends now,” said Sarah Gregg.

The rest of the season looks to be just as competitive as the start. Some of the athletes hope to beat their record of 500 last year. Some just wanted to beat Parker, which just happened. Others want to stay healthy and grow together as a team. The team wants to make it further than the first regional game. The coach wants the girls to be competitive in every game and to be top 3 in the Big 8 Conference. No matter what the goal, the basketball team will utilize their consistency and commitment to the team and to each other to outshine all others.

Hannah Dunlavy’s team goals were to, “Stay unified as a team, not as an individual, and support each other even when we mess up, even when it gets a lot, even when we’re halfway through February. Just keep supporting each other and making sure everybody succeeds throughout the season.”

Although mundane, the daily grind of high school athletics has led this group of Varsity girls to possess the talent they need to be a success. And with that, the ball swooshes into the net!