Injuries are never a good thing at any level.
Aside from the obvious (not wanting to see a player hurt), injuries can derail promising seasons before they even get up to speed.
The New Richmond Lady Lions are hoping to overcome an early rash of injuries as they prepare for the 2019 campaign.
Head coach Rebecca Keys said the team is down five returning players already, four of whom are out for the season: Ella Bird, Abby Swensgard, Lizzie Duncan and Maleigha Henderson.
Three of those four players saw time at the varsity level in 2018, where they competed on a team that finished the year 12-5-1 overall and 8-1-1 in league play.
“We had a great team,” Keys said. “We really came together, and everything that we worked on through the season came together through the tournament. Even though we lost to Summit Country Day, it was still one of the best games the girls had played. It was 1-0, and they were state champions the previous year. I was really happy with the way they ended the season.”
This year’s team, even with the tweaks to the roster, plans on being just as good, according to Keys.
“The team has really come together,” Keys said. “I look at my seniors, and the seniors look at the team and say, ‘We can do this.’ We have some up-and-coming freshman who have stepped up. We have a large junior class that has stepped up. It’s not as stacked as a roster as we would have liked coming into the year, but the girls have stepped up. I’ve been impressed with the Mason preseason tournament as well as our scrimmages that we’ve had so far.”
Over the summer, the team competed in the Mason Preseason Classic, and the squad had a scrimmage at home on Saturday, August 3. Keys praised both the varsity and junior varsity squads for their respective performances.
“We looked really good,” Keys said. “I was really impressed with our JV team. They were phenomenal. In the heat of the day, they played really well. They moved the ball, they kept up their endurance.”
The varsity team lost to Madeira 2-1 in the scrimmage, but the on-field play was more important to Keys than the result.
“The more often we come out and play together, the more they’ll get used to each other and we’ll be a solid squad,” Keys said. “I’m really stoked with it.”
While that cohesion will come with time, Keys and the Lady Lions are making a few changes strategically to help with the transition.
“We’re playing a simpler strategy, we’re playing to everybody’s strengths,” Keys said. “We have different strengths on the squad than what we’re used to, and I think as I continue to see the strength of the players, we’re going to change our strategy a little bit.”
The players and strategy on the field may change, but the team’s end goal has not.
“We’re going four-for-four,” Keys said. “It’s my fourth year coaching, and the seniors are all about going four for four. They’ve been league champs for three years running now, and they’re itching to have that fourth one under their belt. I hope they continue to come together as a team and make that happen.”