For the first time ever, Steinbrenner High girls basketball coach J.R. Allen is faced with the task of rebuilding going into the team’s fifth season.
For the past two seasons, Steinbrenner has been one of the most successful programs in the county, from their first Class 7A-District 9 title in 2011, to its first playoff win against St. Petersburg last year, with back-to-back 20-plus win seasons.
But gone is 1,000-point scorer Bailey Hooker. Gone is all-time assists leader Justice Thigpen. And gone is Lauren Shedd, along with four other seniors, who departed after graduation in May.
But the biggest thing missing from this year’s squad is strong leadership and on-court team chemistry, which may be deeper than the loss of statistics.
“One thing that I will say is, as a head coach, our assistants and even to an extent some of our kids, have been very spoiled by consistency in terms of the people that were here,” said Allen, the only coach in program history. “When we opened five years ago, we were brand new and it was a majority of freshmen and sophomores. So, it was something at the beginning where we knew we were going to eventually take some lumps and hits, but that’s all part of character building and going through things where you want to struggle in the beginning. So they understand what it takes to be successful.”
One of the ways Allen is trying to keep his team on the same page prior to the start of the season in November is through summer youth camps.
The clinics, which drew more than 200 total kids during the two-week-long sessions, give his players the unique opportunity of working with children from around the community, teaching them the fundamentals of basketball.
“A lot of times when kids get time off, a lot of things can happen,” Allen said. “It keeps our girls out of trouble, gives them something to do and it keeps them around basketball, which is what we want. We want them to be thinking about it and staying in basketball shape, but most importantly to pick up other life skills, communication and develop a relationship with the local community.”
Junior power forward Rachel Briere, who was Steinbrenner’s second-leading scorer last season with 9.3 points per game, said the team’s chances of maintaining its success in the district will all rest on how they react to stressful situations.
“It’s going to depend all on our mental toughness,” Briere said. “Coach has already been so specific and clear that that’s exactly what we’re going need, because we’ve played in tournaments this summer and it shows that if we get tired then our mentality is not there, and we let the refs get inside their head or other teams, so it’s all about staying focused on exactly where we want to be.”
Away from the court, the team has its own time for bonding.
Whether it’s going out to eat, weekend slumber parties or huddling around the television to watch their favorite show, the players enjoy each other’s company and, as senior Morgan Gonzalez puts it, they’re all best friends.
“When we went to Gainesville last season for a tournament, we had a team night where we all got in one of the rooms and all watched ‘Pitch Perfect’ and stuff like that,” Gonzalez said. “We are a family, and we just go so much further out than any other team that I know. We’re inseparable.”
Senior point guard Taylor Thigpen added it will take that attitude toward each other in order to get past opponents like Sickles, Wiregrass Ranch and last season’s 7A region champs, Freedom.
“We’re just trying to incorporate every new player that we have and just trying to play Steinbrenner basketball,” Thigpen said. “We’ve just got to learn how to play with each other, because we’re all great friends, but it’s different from being friends outside the court to on the court.
“We’ve got to build chemistry, and I think if we do that, we should have another good season.”
