BEARDSTOWN – For the Triopia girls’ basketball team, summer is a time for playing the game and staying in shape. With the ever-changing lineups of summer, winning isn’t even part of the conversation.
“We definitely freelance a little bit more in the summer, and I want them just to get out there and play the game and not think about right and wrong,” Triopia coach Kelley Wessler said after a game in the Beardstown Summer League last week. “It’s more or less about being in shape and just getting comfortable – with four freshmen here today, just getting comfortable playing at a higher pace, faster pace, a little bit stronger game. No rights and wrongs here. Just working hard. This is summer.”
Triopia has a good team that returns almost everyone from last year, along with some key additions from the junior high ranks. Center Addison Rohn, who missed her entire sophomore season with a knee injury, is entering her senior year. Rohn got back on the court last year but wasn’t herself. Now the knee brace is gone, and Rohn looks like a completely different player, fighting for rebounds under the basket, hitting threes and diving for loose balls on the perimeter.
“When you’re coming back, you’re always hesitant,” Wessler said. “And I think now she knows she’s fine, and she can push herself without that mental block. So we’re past that now. We’re just ready to see what she can do her senior year and build on everything she’s done so far.”
Rohn’s teammates matched her intensity in a game against Rushville-Industry Tuesday night. The Trojans played tough, aggressive defense and showed a glimpse of what they’re capable of doing going into what could be one of the toughest WIVC seasons in years.
“My goal for the summer is just to keep pushing,” Wessler said. “This is my third year – so make sure my upperclassmen are kind of like starting to help the underclassmen to learn my system and help be leaders and be teachers out there now that they’ve been in the program for a couple of years. And then really, just get the girls up and down the court and get some game experience in the summer while we’re here.”
Triopia’s summer has included open gyms and camp in addition to game experience in the Beardstown Summer League. Individually, players are working on their shooting.
“We’re having a good summer,” the coach said. “It’s always nice to get back in the gym and just kind of see what the girls have been working on and get them running up and down the court a little bit.”