This season will be a learning one for the Briercrest Clippers women’s basketball team. With seven rookies on the squad, the team will be looking to develop and gain momentum throughout their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference season.
“We are really young team, so it is hard to really know what to expect from younger players, but we have some other teams in the league that are young as well and new coaches,” said Clippers coach Chad Romanuk. “I am hoping that we can pull some wins off those teams.”
Not only is Romanuk hoping to achieve some success against some weaker teams, he is hoping to also build a strong foundation for the team and sport at Briercrest.
“I just want to develop a culture at Briercrest where…what does it mean to be a Briercrest athlete where we work hard in the off-season and during the season,” he said. “Developing the players is a really big priority for me as well as developing character.
The Clippers finished their pre-season with a 1-4 record, but played some very tough university teams that they will not see again this season.
“It was pretty rough. We played five games and played some pretty tough teams. We went to Mayville and we also played Brandon University. Just being young and inexperienced and going up against more experienced and more talented teams,” said Romanuk. “It was a good learning experience…we learnt a lot about what we need to work on and what it takes to play at this level.”
The team has set personal goals that each individual and the unit wants to achieve, but Romanuk hasn’t set a specific number of games the team wants to win because of how inexperienced the Clippers are in ACAC play.
“It is hard to come up with a win-loss record, but it is a growing year for us. We have seven freshmen, so retention is a huge goal for us and getting a number of girls back again and developing for future years,” stated Romanuk. “I really want to develop culture as a goal and I also think that even though we are younger than last year, we will be able to pull some wins off other teams that are also young. I am hoping to win against some of the weaker teams.”
The Clippers will have their home opener this weekend against Lakeland College and University of Alberta at the Reimer Gym in Caronport.
