BY JESAIAS BENITEZ & EMRAUDE BONNET
Last season, the girls varsity basketball team at Malden High School had an experience filled with ups and downs, finishing the season with an overall record of 1-8. Even though their record wasn’t what they hoped for, they were successful in many different aspects of the game.
This upcoming season, they expect to be even more successful in those same aspects and many more. The former girls varsity basketball coach Lydia Coverdale had been a prior member of the basketball team herself in her years as a student.
This new season, they will be under new coaching, with math teacher and club basketball coach Scott Marino taking the reins of the team this year.
One of his goals include leading a successful team to bump up their amount of wins. Coach Marino has been coaching for over 25 years, getting involved in other programs like AAU basketball. Assistant coach Brian Ludemann is also apart of the team for the MHS girls basketball players in which he also has experience with AAU basketball for 10 years and developing athletes. He has led the team to “win at state championship once in Middlesex Magic.” Marino has led several teams to championships as well as “coaching in prep schools, college,and worked out professional athletes.” As head coach, Marino “know[s] the future is bright.”
In the off-season, the girls have been working really hard. The girls were very busy, attending captain practices often to get better individually and as a team. They have been working on and improving techniques such as their passing skills, shooting skills, dribbling skills, communication skills, etc., to make sure that this season will prosper.
Senior captain Caitlyn Leonard, who started her basketball career at Malden High by making Junior varsity her freshman year, has been on the team for three years now. Although Leonard has played for MHS for three years, she has been playing basketball “for as long as she could remember, [having done] travel league” when she was younger as well. Leonard shared that “[her] goals for this season personally is to help out teammates in reaching their own goals and to get more than 50 points a game.”
Leonard plays many positions, feeling exceptionally happy about the new coach, and her impression that they’re already getting along. He expects a lot, and she knows they can both work together to achieve his goals as well. Leonard describes this as a “nice change to have a new person coaching a team.” Expecting this season to go fairly well, she knows how much they’re going to work hard and how much effort is going to be put in.
Grace Cappuccio, another senior captain for the team, has worked with her teammates for a long time, all being on the same travel league together. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and their ability to work well together because of the chemistry they have on the court. Wishing to work hard to achieve the victories they have always wanted, Cappuccio expects that everybody will try to give it their all, and would love it for their senior year to be victorious.
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