Falcon girls look to new head coach to guide young squad

By Dan Truttschel~Sports Correspondent

There is no doubt the 2012-2013 season will be one of adjustment for the Westosha Central girls basketball team.

From here, however, the Falcons can only look forward.

Central enters the season with its third head coach in three years, as assistant coach Ruth Buehler takes over this year.

Buehler knows her team will have a pretty significant learning curve – but in the same breath, she’s excited and ready to do what she can to get Central on the right track.

“We do have a bunch of girls who come to practice very eager to learn and work hard, so that is exciting to see,” Buehler said.

“I am excited and humbled to be there coach. … and am looking forward to growing each one’s skill set and fundamental understanding of the game.”

Central lost two of its main scoring threats from a year ago in Abbie Reeves and Hayden Krueger, so replacing those baskets will be a priority, Buehler said.

“Abbie and Hayden were also our ball handlers, so our young guards have a lot of work cut out for themselves,” she said. “The good part is we are young, and everything we do is about building them up and have them around for a couple seasons.”

The good news for Central is it doesn’t have a senior on the roster, which gives Buehler and the other coaches additional time to hone their individual skills.

“I am almost looking at this as a 44-game season,” she said. “Everything we do right now will hopefully only be that much more developed by the end of 2014.”

Juniors on the varsity roster are Larkin Langston (forward), Alyssa Beth (guard), Maddie Erickson (guard), Kallie Shramek (guard), Aliyha Willis (forward), Emily Green (forward), Megan Ziesmann (post), Briana Schoenke (forward), Danielle Tesar (post) and Christina Pits (post).

They are joined by sophomores Jaela McGill (guard), Brienna Bostanche (guard), Madison Stanczak (post) and Hope Howell (forward) and freshman Miranda Nobile (forward).

Langston and Ziesmann will serve as co-captains.

Buehler, who is entering her 25th year in coaching, said she is excited to see this group develop over time – and hopes all those efforts will pay dividends down the road as well.

And she also fully realizes she isn’t doing it alone.

“I have a great group of assistants, and we work very hard at developing the right tone in practices of disciplined, hard work, focus and intensity while having team bonding and fun,” Buehler said. “This is the best part of coaching to me.

“I have many team photos to keep me fueled. That’s what I go back and look at, not the former scorebooks or stat sheets. I couldn’t justify spending so much time away from my family if the parents and girls were just a means to get a victory. I absolutely love talking to, mentoring and encouraging the girls, and hopefully impacting their lives for more than just a game.”

Central opened play Tuesday night at Kenosha Bradford. Following that game, the Falcons will be idle until Nov. 30, when they begin Southern Lakes Conference action against visiting Burlington.


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