LYNN — After waiting more than a year to return to play, the Classical girls basketball team isn’t going to be taking any second on the court for granted this season. Now, less than a week before the Rams’s season opener, the excitement is starting to boil over.
“I think we’re all excited, kids and coaches to get this opportunity,” Rams coach Tom Sawyer said. “We’re a few days in now and the smiles are still as big as ever. I’m just really happy for them to be able to do something a little bit more normal after so long.”
That enthusiasm will be needed to get up to speed in a short time, especially for a group of multi-sport athletes coming off a series of postponed seasons.
“We’re going to be in the same boat as everyone else in the Greater Boston League,” Sawyer said. “Our season typically follows a fall sports season and a lot of our players have a whole sports season under their belts. So it’s going to take a little longer to knock off the rust.”
But time isn’t on anybody’s side right now and the Rams have plenty to figure out in a short window before their season opener on Friday. Several key pieces from last season — Amber Crayton, Kiara Edmonds, Jean Gupton-Morrison and Lindsey Valeri — have graduated and left large holes to fill all over the court.
“We’ve got seven kids that were on varsity last year returning so that’s good,” Sawyer, who’s entering his 15th year as head coach, said. “But we also lost four seniors who played almost every minute of every game last season. There will be a lot of opportunities for returning and new players to step up. It’s exciting. Figuring who fits where, that’s what this next week is about.”
Plenty of names will pitch in on the roster this year, starting with a small senior class. Forward Sailor Brinkler and guard Amelia Pedro will lead the charge, while fellow senior Deshawna Rucker will look to step up this year as well. Junior guards Reese Brinkler and Molly Mannion will also bring some valuable experience to the mix.
“Our group is full of players that work hard, are really coachable and all want to learn every day,” Sawyer said. “Even in the short time we’ve been practicing I’ve already seen improvement up and down. They want to learn to get better and they’re taking everything we say and putting it into application. They’ve done a good job building upon progress each day.”
Last season, Classical spent much of the year pursuing a state tournament berth, eventually punching their ticket before losing to a strong Newburyport team. Now, in a new, unfamiliar league without any tournament to shoot for, the goals will be shifting in 2021.
“Because it’s a brand new league with no summer or fall work, I really have no idea what it will be like,” Sawyer said. “We played Malden last year and split two games with them, but we didn’t play any of the other schools. Since we won’t know how we stack up, that just means we can focus on worrying about ourselves and be the best version of what we can be.
“Getting in court and being safe is the top priority,” Sawyer said. “And along the way we want to improve all the way along the season.”
Classical opens up the season Friday afternoon (4) on the road at Revere.
