Three of the four Edmonds District high schools were represented in the district’s annual girls basketball summer league.
The six-week league marked the debut of new Mountlake Terrace head coach Deidra Ducheane, who coached the school’s junior varsity team last season.
“Summer league is a good chance for me to look at team chemistry and put it all together,” Ducheane said.
Ducheane knows many of the players through her experience as junior varsity coach as well as her years coaching local AAU teams.
“I’ve known a lot of these players since they were younger, in sixth grade,” she said.
Ducheane’s connection with her players is obvious. Her philosophy is to have fun, and she and her players laugh and joke around together off the court.
But once the players take the court, Ducheane focuses on the game.
“I believe the game is about mistakes and learning from them,” Ducheane said.
Sophomore Tatiana Heck agreed and said she has enjoyed working with Ducheane.
“She knows that we’ll learn from our mistakes,” Heck said. “She’s not the type of person to yell.”
Ducheane favors a fast-paced game. Though she doesn’t plan on making changes to Mountlake Terrace’s offense, she wants to play tighter defense. Ducheane said she wants the players to work well together.
“I’ll let them make more decisions on their own,” she said. “I am not a dictator. I really want to have fun.”
The Hawks lost only one player to graduation and will bring back five seniors next winter. Ducheane wants her teams to build leadership throughout each grade level, which creates more consistency from year to year.
Senior co-captains Erica Cumbee and Ashley Grover will be important leaders on the team, but Ducheane is also looking for younger players to step up.
Junior Nicki Mosman and Heck were two of the team’s leading scorers last season and Ducheane expects both will take on more leadership responsibilities.
Ducheane said she was pleased the Hawks advanced to the district playoffs last year, and she thinks that experience gave the players a confidence boost.
“I think last year we finally got it,” Ducheane said.
She hopes to continue with that feeling next season.
“We’re excited about opening next season and surprising some people,” she said.
Here’s a brief recap of how the Edmonds District Summer League went for Edmonds-Woodway and Lynnwood:
Edmonds-Woodway
For Warriors coach Amy Branch, summer leagues provide a time for the players to come together and get to know each other.
“It’s just about being together,” Branch said.
The Edmonds League was Branch’s first opportunity to meet and get to know some of the younger players, and it was likewise the first opportunity for those players to get to know Branch.
Since the Edmonds-Woodway program organizes and oversees the league, the team provides score keepers. Branch said she tries to take time to get to know players while they’re keeping score and in between games.
“It’s an opportunity to play,” said Branch, who unlike some coaches doesn’t focus too heavily on the upcoming season or running drills.
Lynnwood
Royals coach Jon Rasmussen used the summer league as an opportunity to begin thinking about next year’s roster. Six players graduated in June, clearing space on the Lynnwood roster.
“I was evaluating the talent,” Rasmussen said.
He used the summer to mix up his lineups and give a lot of players time on the court. Rasmussen said he had a good turnout of players, and that gave him an opportunity to try different offensive and defensive packages.
Though Lynnwood went winless during the league, Rasmussen said wins and losses aren’t what he focused on. He didn’t pay attention to scores, but rather worked individually with players to help develop their skills.
“I’ve got a good group of kids,” Rasmussen said. “They’re hard workers.”
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