Posted: 12/7/05
New coach and new attitude for girls basketball
|
|
 |
Joe Drennan
Sports Editor
It wasnít long after the end of the 2004-05 season that Forest Lake High School girls basketball coach Jack Bender submitted his letter of resignation. A search for a new coach ended when Jen Wagner was found as the new head coach.
Wagner comes to the Rangers after coaching the last three years at Andover as an assistant coach. Wagner played high school basketball at Park Center, then went on to play at the University of North Dakota.
ìIíve always wanted to be a head coach and there was the unique opening of both a physical education teaching position and a head coaching position in Forest Lake,î Wagner said. ìI also knew the program here hadnít been the most successful, but I knew it had a lot of talent and it has the potential to be good.î
That talent Wagner is talking about starts with Bradley University bound senior Renae Frericks. Wagner has worked with Frericks in the AAU ranks prior to the start of the season.
Frericks is a captain along with Krista Skoglund.
Along with Frericks and Skoglund other key players include Alisha Johnson, Kelsey Kosman, Janelle Winiecki, Andrea Thompson, Annie Berner, Sarah Lindenberg, Gina Lange, Audrey Mills and Liz Pilarski.
ìThatís a pretty solid group,î Wagner said.
To prepare for the season Wagner had the Rangers working during the off season to better prepare themselves for the 2005-06 season.
ìThe expectation this fall was that if you werenít in a fall sport, you were in the weight room working,î Wagner said. ìA lot of the kids took to that and played on club teams during the off season and attended camps.î
The strengths of the Rangers team include their hard work ethic as well as their quickness.
ìThe biggest thing is the mentality of Forest Lake basketball is changing,î Wagner said. ìThe athletes are understanding the importance of summer training and three on three leagues. Theyíre getting excited to come and be a part of something that can be great.
ìThe kids, along with hard work and dedication, are having a lot of fun and enjoying playing with each other. As a coach what else can you ask for?î
Competition
ìMy expectations are that I think weíll be in the top half of the conference,î Wagner said. ìEvery game we play in weíll compete, and if a team beats us theyíll have earned it.î
Looking around the conference Wagner says Roseville will be a tough team as they have three of their top players returning. Suburban East Conference newcomer Cretin-Derham Hall should be up there with Roseville as they too have several returning players.
ìThose are two that are going to stick out as really competitive teams in the conference,î Wagner said. ìAll the teams in the conference are going to be competitive though.î
Week in review
The Rangers opened their season with a 50-40 loss to North St. Paul last Tuesday, then fell 46-37 on Friday to North Branch.
When the Rangers fell to North St. Paul Thompson led the team in scoring with 12 points and eight rebounds. Frericks had eight points and six rebounds, and Berner had six points and one rebound.
In the loss to North Branch Frericks led the Rangers in scoring with 12 points and seven rebounds. Thompson also had seven rebounds, while Mills had five.
The Rangers next game is Friday when they play at White Bear Lake at 7:30 p.m. The Rangers return home Saturday when they host Duluth Denfeld in a matinee double header as the boys basketball team also host Duluth Denfeld. The boys game begins at noon, and the girls tip off at 3 p.m.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605