Girls basketball in transition with new coaches
There is plenty of learning going in these days within the East Troy High School girls basketball program.
And that goes for the players and the coaches.
With new co-head coaches Ryan Vodnik and Kristin Michalski taking over after the resignation of Maurya Lomen and Jarrett Church last month, the Trojans are in a full-out transition phase.
And while the success hasn’t come yet for the young squad on the court, things are progressing nicely.
“The teaching during the transition phase is going very well,” Vodnik said. “To start, we all had to learn from each other, coaches and players alike. That process will never be over, but now we’re incorporating more and growing together.”
Vodnik added that he and Michalski set a couple tangible goals moving forward: to maintain a positive team energy and to compete on the court.
Both will be a constant work in progress, he said.
“Those goals will never change,” Vodnik said. “With both of those aspects being in place, we’ll improve, have a successful season and help this young group prepare for future seasons as well.”
East Troy fell to 0-8 overall and 0-7 in the Rock Valley Conference with a 67-34 loss at Brodhead on Friday night.
Morgan Golabowski led the Trojans with nine points, followed by Julia Aleckson with six, Riley Pluess with five and Emma Scurek with four.
The game was the first for East Troy in two weeks – but there was a lot of work done in practice, Vodnik said.
“A lot of work involved going back to the basics in all areas of the game,” he said. “We’ll pick one or two areas of emphasis for each practice, work to build on them and combine those pieces at the end.”
Without a senior on the roster, the Trojans are looking to junior Gracie Moker for leadership, and even though she’s sidelined for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, she’s filled that role admirably, Vodnik said.
And in her absence to have season-ending surgery, others have tried to step up.
“It’s been an amazing group to be around the past few weeks,” Vodnik said. “They all know what needs to be done. They’re focused, yet bring a fun energy that makes all of our practices seem to be over shortly after they start.”
East Troy is back in action Thursday against visiting Edgerton at 7:15 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup Saturday against visiting Westosha Central.
Boys, wrestlers return
Both the East Troy boys basketball and wrestling teams made their 2020 debuts Tuesday night.
The basketball team (8-1 overall, 5-0 RVC), ranked second in Division 2 by WisSports.net, traveled to McFarland on Tuesday and closes its first week back Friday at Brodhead.
East Troy leads the RVC, ahead of Beloit Turner, McFarland and Edgerton, who all entered Tuesday’s action at 4-1 in conference play.
Senior A.J. Vukovich currently is ranked seventh in the state in scoring by WisSports at 27.7 points per game. Ryan Nixon is next at 13.9, followed by Quinten Lottig at 13.1.
The East Troy wrestling squad hosted Whitewater on Tuesday night and hosts New Berlin West in a 7 p.m. non-conference dual meet Wednesday.
