Toilers Senior Girls Looking For Continual Improvement
A young team and different coaching structure seen as challenges but also strengths
Story and Photos by Robert Thomas
The veteran heavy Vanier Spirits took on the rookie heavy Peacock Toilers in Moose Jaw city league senior girls basketball on Wednesday evening and the result was predictable.
Vanier, last season’s 4A senior girls provincial championship, emerged with a convincing 83 - 33 victory.
“ I think we came up against a very experienced Vanier team. They have eight out of 11 returning players there which is fantastic. They are a very well coached team,” Peacock Toilers head coach Brendan Fedoski said, adding “we are a fairly inexperienced team. We are on the younger side of things.”
The Toilers only have three returnees this season with the majority of the team coming from the junior ranks.
The team has one grade 9 student on the roster.
There has been players from last season who have decided not to play basketball this season.
“Some girls have decided to focus on other areas of life and that’s OK.”
Peacock Toilers kelsey McQueen dribbles the ball down court. Last season she was a member of the Toilers junior girls squad
Additionally there is a major coaching change for the Toilers senior girls team.
Fedoski is joined on the bench this season with Macaela Williams moving over from junior girls.
The move allows Fedoski to concentrate more on basketball and teamed with Williams greatly enhances the Toilers game as she knows the juniors who have moved up.
The Peacock Toilers junior girls will be coached by Karen Rigden. The highly experienced Rigden moves over from coaching junior boys.
Due to her tactician abilities it should add some major punch to Peacock’s junior girls program.
“We have a very good group of athletes on the team. They are very coachable. Even last night with a very tough loss they still had good spirits. Which is what we are looking for at the end of the day,” Fedoski said.
The Toilers during a timeout
The new coaching assignments are not just better for coaches but also for the athletes.
Fedoski said he sees it as strengthening the entire girls - junior and senior - program at Peacock.
It’s a move they are looking forward to paying dividends to.
PEACOCK TOILERS MATTAYA COUPLANd looks over her shoulder as vanier spirits ava kindiak watches her really closely
Asked what the coaching staff was looking for he said it’s going to be a process.
“We have a lot of learning to do. I think last night from tip-off we improved throughout the game,” he said.
PEACOCK TOILERS MATTAYA COUPLAND (LEFT) ATTEMPTS TO GO AROUND VANIER SPIRITS MADDY CRUZ BREAKING TOWARDS THE BASKET
“That’s all we can ask for is continued improvement and continued improvement. Continued learning and a good attitude is all we can ask for.”
Asked if things did go south would they ask for help from other coaching staff such as Danny Mullens, Fedoski said anything possible from other coaching staff.
Mullens, who coaches JV boys, is well known for the best attitude in the league. He cheers for both sides and can find something positive to encourage the troops no matter how down the team might be.
Additionally all Peacock coaches are available to help and give advice if need be.
VANIER SPIRITS CALLIE KLEMENZ (left) is shadowed by peacock toilers kate hansen
About Williams moving to senior girls Fedoski said with so many junior girls moving up it’s a positive thing.
“She’s an asset. She already has a good relationship with those players. Since we are such a young team it’s very easy to come in and talk to Macaela on coaching strategies and ways we can push certain players.”
Goals for this season are “to improve every single game, every single practice.”
“We want to be very competitive at the very end of the season…as I explained earlier to the girls this is a process. It might be a long process but I see that last night there were a lot of good things.”
Top Scorers For Vanier
Waverly Demassi 22 points
Ava Kindiak 16 points
Cady Olson 9 points
Top Scorers For Peacock
Mattaya Coupland 9 points
J McAvley 8 points
