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Crosslin, juniors lead Lady Champs

By CHRIS SIERS ~ sports@t-g.com
Posted 11/17/20

The ongoing global pandemic has been a challenge for athletes and coaches of every classification of every sport. While nobody is truly “prepared” for handling the raging pandemic, Lady Champion basketball coach Kendall Hampton feels that having been in the gym as the Lady Champion volleyball coach has helped her coach through the basketball preseason thus far...

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Crosslin, juniors lead Lady Champs

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The ongoing global pandemic has been a challenge for athletes and coaches of every classification of every sport.

While nobody is truly “prepared” for handling the raging pandemic, Lady Champion basketball coach Kendall Hampton feels that having been in the gym as the Lady Champion volleyball coach has helped her coach through the basketball preseason thus far.

“At this point, the school is virtual. It's a constantly evolving situation. You can't do anything to be fully prepared. I think the key is being able to adjust and adapt well and quickly,” she said.

“Using those same kind of strategies and making sure the kids understand the rules associated with contact tracing and monitoring our time together, hopefully that will help us keep a full team as much as possible this season.”

While the team was unable to participate in summer camps and scrimmages, Hampton says the preseason has gone about as well as possible, all things considered, and she was quick to credit the large junior class that saw plenty of time on the court as underclassmen in the last two seasons.

“I think one advantage coming in, they've been a young team in the past. There's a large junior class. I definitely look to them to bring that consistency and experience that we'll need,” she said.

The junior class has proven to be the lion's share of the team, it's the leadership of the Lady Champs' lone senior, Maddie Crosslin, that has provided a vision for the team's success in the 2020-2021 season.

“She (Crosslin) has bought into our philosophy and the way we run things. She came out of her shell and has taken ownership in her responsibility on the team and being much more of a leader than she has in previous years,” Hampton said.

It's not just the experience Hampton says that can pave the path to success this season.

Cascade's versatility across the board opens up the playbook and allows the Lady Champs to adapt to different types of teams.

“We have some versatile players—players that can play multiple positions, posts that can play outside and guards that can play inside,” Hampton said.

The ability to play well in the post, as well as in the backcourt, has given Cascade flexibility in building a foundation for the sesason.

“If we can do a mix of both, we'll have a successful season,” Hampton added.

With basketball activities put on pause through most of the summer months that are typically spent in scrimmages and camps, Hampton says the focus on conditioning and endurance can help the Lady Champs be ready to play a full four quarters each night.

“I hope with the conditioning we've done they're able to put a full game together and play a full four quarters,” she said.

Cascade begins the 2020-2021 season tonight at Nolensville.