HONESDALE — The future of Lady Hornets basketball was on full display recently as talented cagers of all ages and abilities turned out for the 2024 Wayne County Commissioners Camp.
This year’s event was held at the Honesdale High School, Wayne Highlands Middle School and Stourbridge Primary gyms.
Joe Reno, newly appointed girls varsity basketball coach at HHS, oversaw the clinic which ran June 12-14.
“I’m totally thrilled with how everything went,” Reno said. “The kids were just awesome. Everyone had fun. I’m hoping to see all our future players at home games this season. We’re looking to pack the gym and make it loud and intimidating for visiting teams.”
Next up on the summer youth sports clinic scene is the Commissioners boys basketball camp. This year’s edition is being hosted by Hornet skipper Jon Gillow June 18-20 for grades 3-8 at the Red Palace.
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A new era dawns
Joe Reno comes to Honesdale by way of Mountain View where he was JV coach and a varsity assistant for two years.
Reno has an extensive hoops resume which includes successful stints at both the high school and college levels. He served as an assistant at Marywood University and Misericordia, and was head coach at Tunkhannock from 2013 to 2018.
Reno is a graduate of Bishop O’Hara, who then continued his academic career at Georgia State and the University of Scranton. He succeeds Hall of Famer Ron Rowe at the Lady Hornets helm. Rowe’s contract was not renewed following the 2023-24 season.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity,” Reno said. “Everyone has been great and very professional at Honesdale. Dunmore will obviously be the favorite in our new division this season, but there’s no reason why we cannot compete.”
Reno is also thrilled with the staff he’s put together for the upcoming campaign. Joining him on the varsity bench will be former HHS stars Natasha Hessling and Mary Martin.
Marisa Gallik, Jenna Kinzinger and Joe Theobald will work with the junior high and freshmen.
“That’s a heck of a staff we’ve assembled,” Reno said simply. “They’re going to do a great job with the kids at all levels.”
Summer camp 2024
The 2024 Commissioners Camp ran for three days last week and attracted nearly 70 players.
Grades 3-5 were based at the Stourbridge and overseen by Theobald. Grades 6-8 worked out in the middle school gym under the watchful eyes of Reno and Robin Nolan.
Each day consisted of a wide variety of drills emphasizing offensive skills such as ball handling, free throws, shooting technique and passing.
The girls also participated in several friendly competitive events like knockout, dribble knockout, foul shooting contests and full-court scrimmages.
A dedicated group of current players volunteered their time at the camp and earned rave reviews from the new varsity coach.
“Our Lady Hornets were just awesome,” Reno said. “They were all really engaged with the kids and so helpful with running the camp.”
Volunteering at this year’s Commissioners Camp were: Alex Eisele, Brianna Bodie, Charlotte Schultz, Karsyn Kromko, Kiley Brady, Lily Head, Lily Rose, Madison Van Blarcom, Megan Dowling, Minka Beisel, Reece Krajkovich, Ruby Martin and Olivia Dutton.
A bright future
Honesdale’s girls varsity basketball team is coming off a solid season.
The Lady Hornets posted an overall record of 9-14, going 4-9 in Division II of the Lackawanna League and finishing fourth. The Red & Black did qualify for the District 2 tournament, but were eliminated in the opening round of the Class 5A bracket by eventual champion Scranton.
Reno hopes that this year’s Commissioners Camp represents the first step in taking Honesdale to the next level.
“Getting a late start with the whole planning process was certainly a challenge, but we had 10 additional sign-ups on the first day and surpassed our goal,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with how it went.”
Reno was quick to point out that several volunteers went above and beyond to ensure the clinic was a bona fide success.
Kat Beisel handled registration, camper drop-offs, pick-ups and t-shirt distribution. Theobald earned high marks for all the logistics in getting the younger players back and forth from gym to gym each day. Nolan and Kinzinger were praised for both their coaching and organizational skills.
“I can’t stress enough how much our volunteer coaches and high school players had a positive impact on the camp experience,” Reno said.