Bald Eagle Area girls’ basketball learns to have fun again under first-year coach Shawn Thompson
Minutes after the Bald Eagle Area High School girls’ basketball team fell to Central Mountain High School in Thursday’s Senior Night contest, the Eagles’ three seniors stood near the edge of their home court.
Forward Sarah Holler, guard Kristen Onder and guard Georgia Cingle smiled, joked and laughed. Sure, they were disappointed by the end result — a 73-38 loss — but they were grateful when thinking about the bigger picture. Under first-year head coach Shawn Thompson, they’ve learned to have fun again while playing the game — and they’re leading the way for their younger teammates in a season like no other, too.
“The culture’s all about effort and attitude,” described Holler, who scored eight points in the game. “Coming in with a good attitude and just giving everything we’ve got and working as a team and just everyone having a part in the game.”
Under previous leadership, there wasn’t much interest in girls’ basketball among the school’s student body. Only eight players made up last year’s squad.
But, this season, Thompson has brought new life to the program, which now boasts 21 players on its roster.
“I think that’s the main thing, just making sure the kids are enjoying the sport,” Thompson said. “There’s good communication. We talk to each other. I try never to yell at the kids — I always want to speak to them.”
Onder — who scored four points in the contest — said “the whole atmosphere is so much better” than in years past. After not knowing if there would even be a season because of the coronavirus pandemic, she’s thankful her and her teammates are finding joy in competing.
“He kinda tells us to be ourselves and play without being robots,” she said of Thompson. “... He lets us be free and play how we’re supposed to play.”
It definitely hasn’t all been smooth sailing, though.
With 18 games and tournaments canceled or postponed so far because of the virus, the season has been filled with uncertainty. The Eagles have had several players unavailable at various points because of COVID-19 concerns.
Through it all, Thompson has nothing but praise for the resilience his group has shown. As a first-year coach, he’s relied on his seniors to buy into his philosophies and set the foundation for the rest of the team — and they’ve delivered.
“They were just looking to embrace something positive and be a part of something positive and enjoyable,” Thompson said. “And they’ve been wonderful. They’ve been truly the three leaders of our team.”
That’s the reason why it meant so much for Thompson to see the trio get honored.
The event was far from perfect, with only family members in the stands, all sitting at a social distance, of course. Still, it was significant.
Now sitting at 2-3 overall, the Eagles know they’ve got a ways to go following the 35-point loss. Cingle — who led the way with 10 points — said the team still needs to “learn how to play together” to achieve all that it wants to achieve.
But on Thursday night, the seniors beamed with optimism about where the program is headed under Thompson.
They’re ecstatic to help continue to lay the groundwork for something they think will be special one day. And, that, at least for now, is more than enough.
“We’re rebuilding in a really good way,” Holler said. “We’ve got a lot of younger kids, working on really positive attitudes and just coming out and playing every game as hard as we can.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 8:15 AM.
