MUSKEGON TWP. - The future begins on Tuesday night for the Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team.
While that statement seems pretty obvious, because that’s when the new season kicks off with a home game against Zeeland East, there’s more to it than that.
This year the Rockets will put a team on the court that features a lot of very young players with a great deal of potential for the future.
More than half of the team – 8 of the 13 players, to be exact – are either freshmen or sophomores. Considering the fact that the vast majority of varsity players at every school are juniors and seniors, that’s an extremely young team.
R-P's Grace Tindall takes a shot in a game last season.
The youngsters have the potential to form a very good team a few years down the road, and they have enough talent to start developing at the varsity level right now, according to R-P head coach Rodney Walker.
“That’s the plan,” Walker said. “They are going to go through the wars. The younger kids are going to get battle-tested as we grow, and later on down the road they can definitely be special. First we have to make sure they are going to develop.
“It will be exciting to see how well these young ladies do in an extremely competitive conference.”
Helping the youngsters develop will be a core of five seniors – and one experienced sophomore - who are returning from last year’s 9-13 squad.
R-P's Savannah Lockwood races up the court last season.
Seniors Savannah Lockwood, Chloe Brainard, Mya Swain, Jenna Terpstra and Ma'Kaia Riley-McGuffey will anchor the team with their experience and wisdom.
Sophomore Ashlyn David, who is actually the only returning starter from last year’s squad, will also play a very big role.
All have their strengths, but for the first time in several years, the Rockets will not have one or two star upperclassmen, like Brooklynn Tornes, Sophia Hekkema or Ariel Walker, producing most of the points.
R-P's Ashlyn David (33) defends against Mona Shores last season.
This year point production will truly be a group effort, with many of the younger girls expected to chip in.
One strong candidate to contribute right away will be freshman Raquel Walker, the coach’s daughter, who was a big scorer in middle school basketball.
Sophomore Joslynn Kops, who played mostly on the junior varsity team last year, could have a real breakout season, according to Coach Walker.
Sophomores Grace Tindall and Abrianna Do will contribute with their outside shooting, and freshman Trinity Moore will give the Rockets an inside presence.
Jenna Terpstra in action last season.
Freshmen Addison Mitchelson and Mariyana Spears are also talented youngsters who will play on the JV squad and join the varsity for spot duty under the fifth-quarter rule.
“Nobody has had a lot of playing time on varsity, so this will be learning as we move forward,” Coach Walker said. “It will definitely be a collective effort. Everybody on our team will have to be involved. Everybody will be expected to try to put points on the board, rebound, and provide a high level of intensity on defense.
“The difference this year is that one through 11 are probably going to see playing time. Everybody will be expected to give maximum effort on the floor. We will focus a lot on defense, try to limit teams to one shot, and try to run and get easy baskets.”