Garden Plain Middle School basketball has been in full gear with over six games completed. Currently, the 8th grade boys are undefeated and are scheduled to play at Chaparral on December 7. Both the 7th grade and 8th grade girls A team’s are also undefeated. They are scheduled to play Chaparral on December 7 at home. Since they are in the middle of the season, the players are on the court working hard as ever to win more games and solidify their place in

the final bracket.

Head coaches Drew Reida and Tony Little gave a little insight on both the girls and boys season. This is head coach Reida’s 8th year coaching middle school boys basketball. His assistant coach, Brendon Rolfs, is in his third year of coaching the boys. Reida mentioned that he and Rolfs really balance each other well. Being a coach is tough, and Reida shared that being a coachable player, having a good work ethic, and a willingness to learn will help a player get better.

Improvements Reida is making this year is focusing on the 8th grade team. He’s working to push them to the next level. He said, “They’re a talented group that has had a lot of success and I don’t want them to get complacent, but rather continue to grow as players and as a team.”

Both 8th grade boys A and B teams are undefeated, with the A team record at 6-0, and the 7th grade A team’s record is 4-2. They’re off to a great start this season. The hustle and effort is one of a kind. Reida said a highlight as a team is the 8th graders were down 7-9 early in the 2nd quarter of a game and ended up going on a 32-0 run to finish the game, winning 39-9.

An individual to highlight is JJ McFadden. Reida said that he has had an incredibly hot start from behind the arc. He is currently 11 for 12 (91.6%) on 3 point shots through 6 games. Their next game is Monday 12/4 against Trinity Academy at home starting at 4:30, followed by a road game Thursday 12/7 against Chaparral 4:30. 

The girls head coach, Tony Little, has been coaching for 21 years with Samantha Stuhlsatz assisting him for the past couple of years. Little said that his team works well together and they know when to play fast or when to slow it down. They are controlled and consistent and undefeated to date. That has been the highlight of their season.

Little said that differences from year to year are the skills the players have and the knowledge of the game they pick-up. In a player, he looks for someone who is positive and enjoys being coached. His girls are working hard to keep their undefeated record and keep pushing themselves as athletes. 

The 8th grade A team is 6-0 as they continue to look for more strategies to stay undefeated. The 7th grade A team is also 6-0 and they continue to use the older girls to push them in practice. They started off the season with a solid win against Trinity and followed up with another win against Kingman. They use their control of the game to their advantage to match their opponents speed and skills.  girls The GP girls brought the heat to Andale and won with a final score of 26-17. From there, they had a close scoring game of 31-28 with Cheney, but took the win in the end. They are looking forward to the game this Thursday at home against Chaparral at 4:30.