Tara Havens has not been a head coach for a long time, but over her short span, Havens has learned to deal with adversity.
One of the biggest obstacles for Havens, now in her third year, has been low roster numbers.
“We have the same issue that we have had the last two years. We still don’t have a lot of girls interested,” Havens said. “We have eight this year. I lost three seniors to graduation, but I did get two freshman and a senior that hadn’t played before this year.”
The numbers may be low, but there are some positives to build on this year.
“The most positive difference is we have some experience now. The girls that have been with me the whole time are now seniors,” Havens said. “They have a ton of game experience. Where our numbers have been so low, they have had to play every game on the schedule for the last two seasons from tip-off to the end. They definitely have their reps.”
Two of the returning seniors are guards Haley Kendrick and Taylor White.
“They will be handling the ball and have definitely carried most of the burden the last two seasons and going into this season,” Havens said. “They have had the ball in their hands and been the guards that we have leaned on. I am looking forward to seeing what they will do in their senior year.”
“They took the lumps and bumps as young players, but they are looking good right now,” Havens went on to say. “They both are very big hands on defense. We look for Taylor to score off the dribble and score from the outside. Haley will hit some shots for us outside.”
Madyson Hudgins is another senior that has weathered the storms of the past two seasons and made vast improvement.
“Madyson is a small forward, but she plays big. She is super aggressive and super aggressive on defense,” Havens said. “She doesn’t care to bang around in there with players bigger than her. I will look for her to get rebounds and put-backs and scored in the post for us.”
The other returning players this year are senior Addison Thomason and junior Isabella Poore.
“Addison hadn’t played before last year, but she is aggressive on defense and easy to coach. Anything I ask of her she tries. She can play inside-out and I look for her to fill several roles,” Havens said. “Isabella is my big that got some really good experience under Summer Williams. She looks really good with a nice soft finish. She will help us in the high post.”
The two freshman that will be looked to for help this year are Peyton White, Taylor’s younger sister, and Madysan Hart.
“Peyton has been ready for this chance for a while. She is versatile and she can step out and hit shots. She is easy to coach and learns quick. I also had her in volleyball,” Havens said. “Madysan is a point guard. She will really benefit having Hayley and Taylor to play under this year. We can get her some experience handling the ball and some work at the two-guard. She is a good defender that can get some steals out front.”
Cheyenne Mitchell is the senior newcomer playing for the first time. Mitchell will be used in the post for rebounding.
While the low numbers can be viewed as a hindrance to success, Havens looks at it in a different light.
“They have learned over the years, especially the older ones, that they have to be in shape to run full basketball games,” Havens said. “They are all super versatile and good about getting up and down the floor. I won’t have to worry about pressing people, I think we will handle that side.”
The Generals jump right into the fire to open the season with a home contest against River View.
“Being from Montcalm and coaching there, I don’t stray away from a challenge and I don’t care who we play. My mindset is always going to be go out there and give it 100 percent and then look for growth,” Havens said. ‘That is what I like about playing teams like River View first. You see what you do the first game of the season, then you play them later and you can chart your growth.”
