Now we know more than we did

Each of our two varsity teams have three “real” games – as opposed to scrimmages – behind them now as I write this week’s offering, and I can say we do know more now than we did at this point last week when we were still waiting on that first game to be played.

First, our Lady Dawgs.

They were set to head into Tuesday night’s game against 16th District foe Metcalfe County with a 1-2 record, having given up games against Casey in the opener, then again against Logan in the first home appearance. On Saturday evening, however, things took a turn for the better when our Lady Dawgs picked up a very nice win over the Lady Raiders of Warren East.

A few observations at this early point of the season.

We have a lot of youth on the floor right now.

During those first three contests, Coach Darrell Thompson was forced to fill a lot of spots with a lot of inexperienced players and it showed. On the other hand, there was a lot of determination being displayed with those players and that showed as well.

Two of our top ball handlers, Joelie Hicks and Bree Boils, are nursing injuries they suffered prior to the start of the season and both should be back in the lineup within the coming few weeks.

The third player, senior anchor under the goal Kayla Dicken, had a stutter step in the days leading up to the start of the season when she decided she would not play this season.

It was mistake on her part – that’s part of being young and a part of growing up. She changed her mind, came back, sat out two plus games, did some other things imposed by Thompson to work back into the good graces of him and the team, and continues to serve some penalties.

But, and certainly a lot of kudos to Kayla for hanging in there, she is back and on Saturday night Thompson was able to call on Kayla and her presence on the floor made a tremendous difference, in just the level of experience it brought to the makeup alone.

Kayla has long been one of my favorite players since she’s been wearing the blue and white, and I’m glad she stepped up and has worked her way back to being a part of this team.

Translation – all of this considered, as we continue to work our way to ward gaining some floor experience for our younger players and the time when our numbers are again full strength – this team is going to be successful, and fun to watch.

Now, the Dawgs.

Again, it was a big, big graduation we went through last year, and like the Lady Dawgs, we’re still waiting on the complete healing of at least one big hole in the lineup with Eli Brown, who sustained a broken collar bone on the football field.

Eli is a fantastic athlete and has some size and bulk we need underneath, and his return is going to be a welcomed occurrence for the team, coaches and fans.

As for the rest of the field, again, there is a tremendous amount of inexperience on the floor every single night and most of the Dawgs are just now getting their first meaningful varsity experience under their belts.

In both the Casey County and Warren East games, that inexperience resulted in simply not knowing how to hold onto a lead and make adjustments when something quits working. In both cases, we gave up early leads and eventually lost both games.

In the case of Franklin-Simpson and that loss Friday night at home – it was simply a case of a lesser experienced ball club going up against a very nice and talented team, led by one of the state’s best players in Davin Lovin.

We just got beat Friday night.

Still, they are eager, determined, and they are showing signs of improvement.

There will be wins and they will be fun to watch.

Throwback night at Casey

In the season opener, our Lady Dawgs and Bulldogs found themselves squinting under the dim lights – all six of the dim lights – inside the old Casey County High School gymnasium, now known as the Liberty Gymnasium and tied into an elementary school in that system.

A tribute to one of their former coaches, Bob Payne, who died in 2013, playing in the old gym for a single outing as the season gets underway began last season.

It was very reminiscent of the old Clinton County High School gymnasium, without the balcony. My particular class – 1976, was the first group that never played a varsity game in our old gym, as the current gym opened in 1973. Still, I played many little league games in our old gym and a lot of games in similar gyms in Kentucky.

There were lots of comments about the conditions our players were experiencing last Tuesday night in that old gym, but in the end, it was a good experience for everyone. Actually, the school system deserves kudos for keeping that old gym in really good condition when in most cases, gymnasiums from that era have become parking lots.

No one got hurt. There was a lot of memories that came to the front for everyone inside. It was a nice honor for a coach who was very well known in this area. And likely, an experience that the players who were on the floor, will remember more than many of the other games they will play this year.

When I first walked in, I was one of those who was shaking my head. As the night went on, despite enduring those hard bleachers, I have to admit, I’m now giving the experience a “thumbs up”.

I’ll see you in the gym.