Step by Step, Day by Day

 

What Collegiate’s girls varsity basketball team might lack in numbers and experience, though, the eight players who suit up each day compensate with toughness, determination, resilience, and heart.

 

They know no other way. Competitive spirit, you see, is their trademark. Joy combined with their desire to learn, improve, and excel makes them tick.

 

“Our team is so gritty,” said Celie Shield, a senior forward and captain. “Everybody honestly works so hard and brings something different to the table. We bring a lot of energy. We’re happy, and we have a lot of fun in practices and definitely in games. I’m always smiling, and my teammates are always smiling.”

 

Four of the eight players are newcomers to the varsity level.

 

The Cougars stand 5-7 through 12 games with quality wins over Douglas Freeman, Episcopal, Cristo Rey, Christchurch, and Norfolk Academy. In mid-December, they hung with Steward, then and now ranked in the Richmond Times-Dispatch Top 10, for much of the game in the Spartans’ gym before falling 49-35.

 

“I really enjoy the team we have,” said Coach Kevin Coffey. “We have a high-potential team. We have some young ones who are still learning to play at a high level. We’ll be fine.”

 

Shield, senior Carly Barnes, juniors Clare Aman and Mackenzie Weiss, and 8th grader Mia Shrestha comprise the usual starting lineup.

 

Junior Janey Ferry and freshmen Kamryn Williams and Riley Douglas provide depth as well as quality minutes off the bench.

 

“[Their contributions] let me give the people who are in [the game] the most some breaks so they can have something in the tank to finish,” Coffey said. “It’s been a good challenge for me to make sure I manage things properly so there’s no drop-off anywhere.”

 

Shield, a University of Rhode Island lacrosse commit, missed last winter while rehabbing a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. She leads the Cougars in rebounding with 9.7 per game while chipping in four points per game.

 

“She’s the motor,” Coffey said. “She goes all out, non-stop, as hard as she can, as long as she can. She’s been tough on the offensive boards. She’s been a huge help on the defensive end.”

 

Aman, a four-season veteran and past All-League of Independent Schools selection, leads in scoring (13.4 ppg) while collecting 9.3 boards per game.

 

“She’s helped us a ton, being a presence in the middle,” Coffey said. “She’s also been a great rebounder for us on the defensive end.”

 

Shrestha, who plays with confidence and poise well beyond her years, averages 11.7 points and 4.2 assists per game.

 

“She handles the ball,” Coffey said. “She shoots the ball. She gets us going offensively. She’s been a terror on defense, too. She gets in and rebounds and steals the fall from bigs when they aren’t paying attention.”

 

The Cougars are averaging 35.3 rebounds (21.3 offensive, 14 defensive) and 9.7 assists per game.

 

This is Coffey’s first season heading Collegiate’s girls basketball program after serving 13 years as an assistant to longtime coach Rives Fleming.

 

During his 12 years at Thomas Dale High School before coming to North Mooreland Road, he coached the freshman girls, then the JV girls, and, from 2006-2013, the varsity girls. During that final seven-year stretch, Dale reached the VHSL state quarterfinals and Central Region finals twice and won three Central District titles. He was named coach of the year in the district in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and region in 2011.

 

Michele Cosel and Abby Freeman assist him. Cosel, a Henrico County police officer, led undefeated Atlee High School to the 2003 VHSL, Class AAA state championship and later played at VCU and professionally overseas. Freeman, a graduate student in physical therapy at VCU, is a 2020 Collegiate graduate and All-League of Independent Schools and All-VISAA guard who played four seasons at Bridgewater College.

 

“They help a ton,” Coffey said. “I’ve been around Michele long enough that she knows what I like and how I teach it. Abby is definitely insightful. She helps our guards and brings a newness with her because she’s fresh off the basketball floor. She still sees things from a player’s perspective and uses that to teach our kids how to get things done. The more eyes we have, the better. Everything shouldn’t come just from me. I need the team to embrace them as coaches. I need them to be just as connected as I am.”

 

As the young, evolving Cougars gain experience, their journey toward the LIS tournament in late February continues step by step, day by day.

 

“Absolutely,” Coffey said. “That’s been our motto the whole time: focus on one thing to be better at today than you were the day before. We understand that we might play tomorrow and the day after, but let’s focus on today. This group enjoys having fun, but they also understand when it’s time to work. We try to instill hard work through fun, and fun through hard work.”

~Weldon Bradshaw