Bloomington Summer League

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Summer now crucial to high school season
By Jeremy Price - December 2, 2010

If there was one common thread in talking to area girls' basketball
coaches prior to the season, it was summer league basketball.

That is in no small part the result the Bloomington Summer League,
which featured North, South, Edgewood, Eastern Greene, Clay City,
Bloomfield, Brownstown Central and Southport last summer.

Part of the reason summer league play has become so valuable to area
coaches and players is the condensed time for practice prior to the
season's first game.

"Summertime nowadays is so important, and it's so crucial to your
program, because you get a week and a half before your scrimmage and
you get two weeks before your first game," North coach Alana
Harrington said. "You don't put a lot of new stuff in. They're
reviewing and catching on quickly, and it's stuff that they've seen
before."

Added Edgewood coach Gary Sims: "You've got to play in the summer,
because 13 practices and then a (exhibition) game is not enough time.
No longer are we starting Oct. 15, where you've got a month or five
weeks to prepare for your first game, you've got 15 days.

"The summer's huge to develop kids and get them to try to understand
their roles a little bit."

It's particularly useful for younger players or those who have seen
little varsity time previously. For South, a summer injury to Kaila
Hulls proved valuable.

"I think that's a big thing about having the 20 games over the summer
 to get used to things," Panthers coach Larry Winters said. "Kaila had
to sit out some because she had wrist surgery, so these girls know
they can do things without Kaila.

"That's been one bonus with the summer, it gives you a little time to
work on those things and look at different lineups, so I think
they're well-prepared for that."

And at Bloomfield, the summer was the perfect time to adjust to the
loss of a valuable senior, Elyse Weddle.

"We had good summer, were able to play 20-22 games with this group,"
Cardinals coach Chris Hitchcock said. "Not just winning, but learning
to play with each other without Elyse. Everybody kind of stepped up
and did a little part defensively and offensively.