Inside Practice

Jan. 29- – The currently undefeated women’s wheelchair basketball team had one of their practices Tuesday before the tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind. this weekend. There are not many women wheelchair basketball teams, so the girls often play men or coed teams. This weekend, the team will play three men teams back to back and the team is preparing to give their all in every game.

The team’s practice on Tuesday was an hour spent focusing on shooting. Each player practiced with men’s basketballs to be prepared when playing the men teams in Indiana.

During the Pioneer Classic on Jan. 18, Head Coach Ryan Hynes, was focused on improving the communication between the girls on the court. Travel Manager Amber Dean said” The communication has definitely improved since the tournament in January.”

At the end of practice, small forward Sarah Maynard, said the communication is getting much better. “I feel we feel better when we play on the same page. I feel that we have been bonding this year so it has helped a lot .”

In the beginning of practice, the team broke off into groups of two and spent 20 minutes shooting and helping their teammate. It is no surprise that each player just needed a word of encouragement with having talented players. When not playing for BAMA, some teammates train with Olympic wheelchair basketball teams all across the globe.

The groups then came back together and did shooting drills as a team. As each teammate made a shot, the number would increase as to how many consecutive shots the team made as a whole. This encouraged players to motivate others to play their best and to make their shots. Coach Ryan Hynes also joined in on the competitive practice. During this week’s practices, the team focused on different lineups, pressing other teams especially with playing men that can be taller. The energy on the court is fierce. The girls used every second in that one hour practice to make sure they were ready to kill this weekend’s tournament.

At the end of practice Sarah Maynard was happy with the outcome of Tuesday’s practice and is ready for this weekend.

“I am looking forward to tearing up the floor and looking better than everyone that comes on the court,” Maynard said.