As the warm fall weather turns frigid, there is a shift in sports as well. The volleyball nets are replaced with those on a basketball hoop, and knee pads transition to basketball jerseys. The winter season has begun! Today, we are covering girls basketball and everything that it entails.
The program has gotten smaller over the years, but its impact on the school is still relevant. There are two new coaches taking the reins of this amazing team – head coach Andrew Johnson, and his assistant Austin Leifeld.
Before coming to coach Columbus, Johnson worked at a variety of schools at all different levels as the assistant coach and head coach. He received his Bachelor of Arts from York University, where he played boys basketball and coached the surrounding area. Leifeld is a first-year teacher at Columbus High, where he teaches math subjects to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. He attended Wayne State to obtain his degree in education.
I had the opportunity of interviewing Coach Johnson this week about the upcoming season, and his responses are a testament to the energy he will be bringing this season. When I asked him what he is looking forward to this season, the response had nothing to do with winning or hard work. He said, “I am looking forward to building strong and healthy relationships with all of my players that participate with the girls program.”
My next question for him got a little more serious: what are your expectations for the year? His response was valid, yet realistic for our school. Johnson stated, “My expectations are for the team to show up and get a little better each day! This sport will show them a lot that they can use in life, so I hope they soak up as much as possible!”
To close out our interview, he shed light on the challenges the team will face this year, and how they will overcome the hurdles. Overall, Johnson stated that the biggest challenge for the CHS team is time. He feels they need more time to prepare for games, bond with each other, and practice together. However, Johnson believes CHS can overcome these challenges with dedication to the team’s end goal and building an amazing program. Johnson also commented that a big goal for him is to retain a majority of the girls for next year and get more girls interested and involved in the later years.
After this amazing and heartfelt interview with Coach Johnson, I asked senior Eastyn Luebbe for some input on her final season. Here is a breakdown of our conversation:
Q: What are you most looking forward to this season?
A: Getting the opportunity to step up and lead the team, growing relationships with the underclassmen, and making memories with the girls I have grown up playing with.
Q: How will you step into the leadership / senior role this year?
A: I will step up by leading by example. I want to be someone girls can come to and feel comfortable talking to. I will also strive to communicate and keep a positive attitude all season.
Q: What is one goal (personal or team-wide) that you have?
A: My personal goal is to lead the team with 3-pointers. A team goal I have is just to have fun and have an enjoyable season.
The interviews I conducted for this article make me so excited for this season! The Girls Basketball team looks so promising and I can’t wait to watch them shine on the court.
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