JV Article

With a record of 5-1 league, 8-3 overall the Glen Cove Girl’s Junior Varsity Basketball team has been surprisingly competitive in every minute of every game thus far in the 2011-12 season. If their strong start is any indication, this year’s team may well be a window into the future of Glen Cove Girl’s Basketball.

Beginning with their first game, a 32-27 win over Sewanhaka up until their most recent 55-33 victory over Valley Stream South, one of the more remarkable aspects of this team’s success has been the coalescence of the past, the present and the future of Glen Cove Basketball. The team features four 7^th grade starters at the very beginning of their high school basketball experience and a young, dynamic, hometown hero in her first year as coach. While their enthusiasm has been infectious, the impulsivity of the younger players has benefitted from being tempered by the consistency of effort and focus of the older, more mature, freshmen and sophomores. Up to this point, the season has been a working combination of trial by fire on the part of the 7^th graders, hard work, perseverance and determination by the 9^th and 10^th graders and a very successful homecoming of sorts for the new coach.

Glen Cove is first year coach Corinne Turner’s hometown. Having grown up in Glen Cove Corinne attended Glen Cove public schools up until the 9^th grade at which time her basketball skills blossomed and she transferred to perennial girl’s basketball powerhouse Christ The King in Middle Village Queens. There she played varsity basketball for the accomplished coach Bob Mackey and won three New York State Titles in her four years. A remarkable accomplishment! Having achieved such great success in high school Corinne was highly recruited by Division I basketball programs. Coach Turner went on to play basketball for legendary Coach Joe McKeown at George Washington University in Washington DC. Given Coach Turner’s exposure to great coaching and women’s basketball played at the highest level, she is clearly not your typical first year Junior Varsity coach. Corinne possesses a tremendous knowledge of the game but also an even more important attribute. Having come from the Glen Cove community she can relate to the girls, knows where they are and sees where they want to go. This familiarity affords her one fundamental skill that all coaches need which can’t be taught, the ability to connect with players and therefore get the most out of each of them. Coach Turner's practices can be brutal yet these girls all work extremely hard, always giving 100% and are happy to do so.

Coach Turner is not the only part of the mix that is far from typical. The four 7^th grade starters may be more than meets the eye as well. Local leagues, CYO, AAU, summer leagues, the youngsters that form the core of the team have been playing competitive basketball together since the second and third grade. The group consists of Grace Brady a 5’11” power in the paint, GraceAnne Woods a 5’9” versatile big guard, Tristyn Hudson a sharpshooter at the two-guard and Amara Phillip an explosive playmaker at point-guard. These four take their basketball very seriously, work extremely hard and play the game year round. The combination of effort, experience, skill and their familiarity with one another on the basketball court has led to some very exciting play this season on both ends of the floor.

The secret weapon, the most impressive aspect of this team is how quickly all the players and coach have come together and the unity that they’ve shown. Great credit is due the Freshmen and Sophomores. Not only for their contributions on the floor but, for welcoming the younger players, their commitment to the new coach and for being adaptable to a new approach.

The 5’11” Brittany Brown is emerging as an impact player. Jayda Vaughan provides boundless energy off the bench. Caitlyn Brown hustles for every loose ball, every rebound and has become a trusted and reliable player under pressure. Karla Correa has shown fearlessness in end of game situations. Gillian Farnan has an uncanny knack for finding the open three. Kendall sees the floor exceptionally well and makes all her teammates better. Lauren Rizzo is a true competitor and unselfish distributor. The team can always rely on Esther to give 100% effort on every play and Natasha keeps everything together as the Team Manager. This is a great group of girls that all seem to fit well together and support one another. In addition to a winning record and the great play on the basketball court they all seem to be getting along, enjoying one another’s company and most importantly, having fun!

Glen Cove basketball is on the rise and the Junior Varsity Girl’s are having a wonderful and exciting time being a part of it! Check the schedule and come down to see their next home game. An 8-3 record is a great start but it’s just the beginning. It’s going to be very interesting to see what this team does next but make no mistake, past, present and most importantly future this group has the skill, determination, and ability to be successful for a long time.