Lady Cougars tip-off with new look for season
From our weekly issue dated December 02, 2009
A whole new look from top to bottom this season will mark the Illinois Valley High School girls basketball team.
Steve Marsden, in his first year, will be at the helm for the Cougars. Marsden is quite familiar with the Cougs and Illinois Valley’s never-say-die approach to the game, as he was an assistant on last year’s Cougar boys JV team.
However, his stint as an assistant coach for the Lady Cougars four seasons ago has prepared him for the girls game and the job at hand.
Marsden graduated from Poway High School in San Diego County, where he played basketball for the Titans. He then furthered his education and continued playing basketball for the Comets at Palomar Community College in San Marcos, Calif. He moved to Grants Pass and continued to play recreationally in the Rogue Community College City League.
Marsden and his wife, Jennifer, have a daughter, Ayla, who attends Evergreen Elementary School. Jennifer works with ASPIRE at IVHS.
Said the coach, “My main goal is to get these girls to believe in themselves and their teammates. This program has been psychologically down for the last couple of years brought on by the team‘s conceived notion of lack of success on the court.”
The coach knows that the score often does not reflect the hard work and the improvements made during the contest. Marsden wants to stress fundamentals and take the actions needed to rebuild this program.
“The biggest obstacle we will face in rebuilding this program is the fact that there are no feeder programs like there used to be,” he observed.
“Hopefully that will be addressed.”
A camp for seventh- and eighth-graders was held by Marsden a week prior to his season starting at the high school to start the building process. Marsden stated that the outlook of this year’s team is good, and that because of having no seniors on this year’s roster, he will be able to work with these girls for a better outlook.
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He stated, “I am excited to be back and am looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead. I have a great group of girls to work with, and that is a good start.”
Despite losing Amanda Hults, Tammy Huntamer and Miranda Clemens to graduation; and Rebekah Kaberline, who wants to focus on track; Marsden feels strongly that the well is not dry.
“Having Laurissa Tausaga and Kayla Johnson (both juniors) will definitely help in our rebuilding,” he said. “Not only are they good players; they are good leaders.
The coach also is enthusiastic about his supporting cast of junior Chelsea Bullock, who will play in the post position; and sophomores Megan Householder, Thea Barker-Cortrecht and Carly Jensen.
“I feel if these girls play hard every possession and play as a team we will be in a position to win some games,” notes Marsden.
With him running the show, there is no doubt that these girls will improve as the season progresses, and break a two-year drought.
“I don’t really care about results. I just want them to play the game the right way, practice hard every day, play hard every game, and the results will come,” concluded Marsden.
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