by Hunter Moore ’15

Coach Kenny Prather gives his team quick instruction and some feedback durinig a timeout. The Warriors fought hard but went on to lose to a talented Seneca Valley 36-22 on opening night.

Former JV coach Kenny Prather has moved up to coach girls’ varsity basketball, replacing Sandi Williams after her 10-year tenure coaching the Lady Warriors. In addition to coaching JV, Prather coaches over 100 games a year with a variety of other teams in the off season. Prather has high hopes for the future of the program and believes he can impact the girls in an exciting way.

“On the offensive side of the ball, we will be fast-pace, up-tempo so we will get a lot of shots up and it should be an exciting experience to watch,” said Prather. “On the defensive side, we will be more aggressive and will be getting at the ball, trying to steal the ball. In essence, our whole team will be made up of transition plays up and down the floor. It should be pretty exciting to watch.”

He has proven to be successful in making the girls feel comfortable and welcome on the court. “I really like him; he’s a great coach and he really cares about us girls. Hopefully he’ll turn our program around and guide us to a state championship,” said junior Marybeth Bidwick, one of the 11 girls that Prather has previously coached.

Although the team has plentiful chemistry from many years of playing together, they are still a very young team. The team has only three seniors and an abundance of underclassmen, including two freshmen. The bright side of the young team is that it suggests great potential for the future, with them constantly gaining experience and getting better.

Returning varsity player junior Simone Bloom is also excited to have Prather as a coach, particularly about his ability to turn them into talented players. “Coach Prather will focus on different aspects of our game which will help us turn into well-rounded and fundamentally sound basketball players,” said Bloom.

In Prather’s debut game as a varsity coach, the girls fought hard but lost 36-22 to a talented Seneca Valley team with four returning starters. Sherwood lost 56-22 to Churchill to start the season 0-2 but will work hard to make corrections and adjustments.

“We’re young, it’s going take us three or four more games to get the ball rolling,” said Prather. “Pretty soon we will be up to varsity level and in about five games, I expect us to go on a winning streak.”

*Moore is currently enrolled in journalism