Coach Marty Plum's Fort Calhoun girls basketball teams have always taken practice seriously.
Since last season, though, there's been even more emphasis on court time inside otherwise empty gyms.
“One of our mantras has been, 'Dominate every drill,'” Plum said.
The Pioneers wanted to make the most out of practice as they got ready for the 2023-24 season, which officially begins 5:45 p.m. today against Fremont Bergan.
“If it's just a shooting drill, dominate it,” Plum said, explaining the objective. “If it's five-on-five, dominate it. If it's five-on-zero, dominate it.”
FCHS' players have embraced the mentality, too, building a competitive attitude.
“We're practicing really well,” their coach said. “We've been really pleased with practice.”
The Pioneers put some of that practice to the test Monday with four exhibition periods against Ralston and Oakland-Craig on the Knights' home floor. They outscored the Rams 38-9 across two quarters, but fell short against the home team, 42-22.
Calhoun started the night with one senior, two sophomores and two freshman in the starting lineup. Senior Bria Bench averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last year, while 10th-graders Maelie Nelson and Ella Bouwman averaged 6.1 and 5.3 points, respectively.
Freshmen Raeann Massey and Ansley Elofson, however, are brand new. They did, however, score two of the Pioneers first three baskets of Monday's play.
Plum believes all of his players have improved during the offseason, though, including returning varsity contributors Jovi Greiner, Kaylee Taylor, Izzy Greenough and Ari Nelson. They have good work ethic and are coachable, which has contributed to what their coach views as strong overall depth.
“If you're player No. 1 and you're not ready to play on a play, you're going to get embarrassed,” Plum said. “The kids have really embraced that competitiveness in practice. That's been good.”
FCHS struggled against Oakland-Craig during Monday's first period, however. It fell behind 26-3, but rebounded with a 19-16 second quarter.
Now, though, the games will start to count in the record books.
“We just hope to continue to progress,” Plum said.
He hopes his fourth season leading the Pioneers is the best yet.
