As the fall sports season comes to a close, the Edina Girls’ Basketball season ramps up. Hungry for this year’s state title, the team has welcomed several eighth graders this year.

Six out of the 18 members of the JV/Varsity team are eighth graders. The team, which, according to senior captain Maggie Yuan, is typically dominated by upperclassmen, has three seniors and two juniors this year. 

Many middle schoolers played on the 9A or 10 team as seventh graders prior to making the JV/Varsity cut. All of them participated in practices held by Edina High School in the summer and fall. The practices, which involved skill work and drilling, allowed players and prospective players to work alongside each other and determine their interest in playing for EHS in the winter.

To build this year’s roster, JV Coach M.C. Vander Velden looked for players upholding the team motto: “attitude, energy, and effort.” “Those are kind of a baseline… beyond that, we’re looking for who is going to give us the best chance to win basketball games,” she said.

Although Vander Velden noted that younger players tend to be physically smaller, which can make rebounding harder, she plans on building the team’s speed to balance out the potential weakness. Having a younger team can also be advantageous by allowing coaches to work with the same players for many years.

“It sets you up longer term, knowing these kids are going to be around a while,” Vander Velden said. “It makes it so that you can install [strategies] and build on that come next year.”

Since many middle schoolers have already spent a year on the team, Vander Velden said they already know “the basics.” Still, as a senior, Yuan felt responsible for orienting them on the JV/Varsity team. “I feel like I need to be a better example and show them what the team expectations and culture are for this program,” she said.

Eighth-grader and JV/Varsity player Izze Austin believed the upperclassmen “took [her] under their wing.” As a first-time member of the team, she aspires to become a “big leader” in future years.

Looking ahead, Vander Velden urges young players like Austin to constantly improve. “You haven’t [peaked]; you’re in eighth grade. You have to get better,” she said.

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on Dec. 19, 2024