The Girls and Boys basketball teams will be hosting tryouts on November 7th and November 14th in the main gym. 

Both teams made some noise last year! The girls made it to the semi-final, while the boys fell short in the quarter-final. Coach Young and Jebbia have high expectations for this season to win a state championship. Both coaches have plenty of experience, Coach Jebbia being named varsity head coach in 2006 and Young in 2014.

The girls basketball team have many returning role leaders, having four seniors and three returning varsity players. Coach Young talks to me about his four returning seniors, Sophie Abraham, Mary Derrow, Josie Stone and Casey Ticich, “all having varsity experience and do a great job of setting the example for others”. His three returning varsity starters, Natalie Daugherty, Alexis Bordas and Lala Woods, all had big seasons last year. Coach Young has high expectations for these girls, “I really like what I have seen from all of them in the offseason and I’m excited to see their development continue throughout year”.”. Merrit Delk and Jillian Huffman are ready to make a difference on the court this season. Coach Young knows what they are bringing to the table this season, ”Jillian Huffman has really put some work in over the summer and she is going to be a major contributor this season. Merritt Delk brings leadership, experience and athleticism to our team and I also expect her role to expand this season”.  

Coach Young overall expects to get back down Charleston again this season, and compete for a state championship. Coach Young tells me he has hope to play for an OVAC title and win their section, two goals they fell short of last year. He has plenty of confidence going into this season, “we have a lot of players returning and we feel like we can compete with any team in AAAA this year”.

Coach Jebbia has eight returning varsity players, four of them being starters, Brett Phillips, Xander Gibson, Cole Wilkison, and Aiden Davis. All playing a lot of minutes last year, Jebbia has high expectations for these starters, “Just to continue to get better each game, each week, but with an experienced team that made it down to the state tournament last year, we expect to get back there”. Not only does Jebbia have a strong starting four, he has a deep bench that still got a lot of minutes last season, Ryan Doyle, Jacob Huffman, Mykel Davis, and Keohon Stephens. He has big plans to prepare for this season, “The experience helps, but just coming to practice everyday, working hard, and trying to take care of the ball and take good shots. We have good kids, we have good talent so it’s just meshing it all together”. Coach Jebbia also expects some new faces from the JV, “Obviously, there are going to be some new faces, we will be working that out during tryouts”. 

Coach Jebbia has high hopes to have a strong finish this year, “possibly be in the hunt in the big school division to win a state championship. Morgantown is still the favorite, but we think we are right there, very close to them”.