Rebuilding Lady Tigers Basketball - By Lillie Backes

Description: The 2023-24 Lady Tigers Basketball Team.

Rebuilding Girls Basketball

By Lillie Backes

A fallen and broken girls' basketball program was tired and struggling through all the coaching staff changes. A coach who rebuilt many boys' programs decided to take on the challenge. La Junta High School girls basketball received a new coaching staff this year: head coach Duane Grasmick, and assistant coaches Heather Estrada and Rachel Ford. 

Interviews with Grasmick and Estrada both say there were many rough times. “We had a tough schedule this season. Our non-conference, which was harder for a team rebuilding, was the hardest part of the season, which made it even harder for a team trying to rebuild.”

“The team is working on learning to handle adversity with poise. We’re building mental strength and toughness,” Estrada explained in her interview.

The goals for the team for these next years from Coach Grasmick and Coach Estrada are to build more onto what the team has put in this year, put a good summer program, come back stronger, tougher, and have more knowledge in the sport. 

In three years, the two of them see themselves still coaching this team. They hope to have a larger team that has the current team to look up to and have a better program that has the foundation complete.

Both the coaches and the team have had a fun and relationship-building experience in the first year of rebranding and rebuilding.

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