Area girls basketball teams hit the summer hardwood

Sometimes, you reload, and sometimes, you rebuild basketball teams, but in coach Baylee Robinson's case at Alamo Navajo, she's doing both at the same time over the summer. It's a project that will be under construction heading into next season, too.

"What's our summer for? Honestly, just to get better, we're very young. We graduated six seniors this year and six the year before," Robinson said.

With a young team, the times can be tender, especially if they are still learning their second-year coach's system. Robinson wants her Lady Cougars to realize a couple of things as they match up against teams during summer camps.

"One thing I'm trying to implement is don't look at the score. First off, you never know what the other team is bringing to the table. You don't know if they're bringing in JV or Varsity or maybe a C-team A-team," Robinson said. We're changing our offense a little bit because of who we lost to graduation. So far, it looks good, and it's working. We have just got to be able to execute out of it."

Robinson's problems are fixable, and there are few dents in the Lady Cougars' armor.

"I don't think we're going to have a lot of weaknesses. I give props to our seniors. I think they did an excellent job of setting the foundation for us. You know, Claire (Apachito) and Kate (Stockham) did a phenomenal job being leaders and saying, 'no, this is how our program is going to be moving forward'," Robinson said. "They said this is how we're going to do it moving forward. The foundation they set for us is solid."

The only thing Alamo needs to do is figure out how to point points on the board. The Lady Cougars are going through one of the same struggles Magdalena went through two seasons ago with a young team and the reluctance to take shots.

"We get great outlooks, and we're getting touches inside, which is great. We have an inside and outside game this year," Robinson said. "But I have to get them to understand, if you're open, you've got to take those shots."

Young teams come with tender feelings, and when your coach is yelling, it can be misconstrued as a big mistake, and it can be taken personally.

"I try to tell them when we're in basketball, you need to know I'm going to be on you. I'm going to yell at you. In that moment, I am your coach," Robinson said.

The 2025 Stampede

If there is a prime example of how to bring along a girl's basketball team, it has to be coach Sara Sue Onley in Magdalena, who has checked all the boxes when considering the items vital to establishing a successful program.

Olney has a process, and she's created a culture where her girls want to buy into what they are doing. The Steers look like they are picking up right where they left off. That chip Magdalena was carrying around on its shoulder has grown to California redwood tree size after the Steers exit from the state tournament.

"I think we have even more to prove because I still don't think anybody really thought we could be there. Even though we were never below a No. 6 in the rankings there were still people and there still are people who don't think we should be there," Olney said. "The girls remember how our season ended, and it left a bad taste in their mouths."

The Steers' controversial one-point loss to eventual state champion Fort Sumner is the kind of slow-burning fuel Olney needs to keep the fire stoked until basketball season rolls around.

"I think this year we're coming in with a little more idea of what we want to do and what we want to be. I think last year we weren't sure what we could be. Now we know where we want to be, and we're coming in a little bit hungry this year," Olney said.

Last week, the Steers looked like they were starving for action, and their home camp was more about sharpening a brand-new razor to make it just a little bit better.

"I was really pleased with all the girls. I knew my returners, or my "studs," would show up and do what they do. I was really impressed when I put subs in; we didn't fall off too much. I had girls that were all bought in, and everybody was trying to be on the same page and do the things I asked. That was super exciting for me," Olney said.

The only genuine concern Olney has is making sure her team hits the court physically stronger after an offseason filled with weightlifting.

"Unless I can get a 6' 6" girl, we're going to be who we are. I realize we're small, but that doesn't mean we can't rebound. It doesn't mean we can't guard people who are bigger than us. It doesn't mean any of those things. It means we've got to do things a little bit differently when we have those types of teams that we play," Olney said.