Coaching Staff:
Head Coach – Levi Ladd (2nd year at FA, 3rd year varsity coach)
Assistant Coach – Josh Kimball (2nd year)
JV Girls Coach – Faleesha Gaylord (1st year)
2021/2022 record: 9-9
Expectations:
“We expect to be competitive night in and night out. We are hopeful to make it to the CIC this year to be able to compete at the big stage and show what Pony hoops is all about. We are returning a large contingent of players however we also had a few players in the system last year who are pursuing new winter opportunities so we still have players to bring up to speed on our system,” Ladd said. “With our philosophy and system being very atypical to what the girls were used to, last year it was fairly alien to them, so we didn’t get as deep into it as I would have liked. We hope to dive deeper into it this year so we can make multiple-defenses and a high degree of pressure a part of the culture at all levels. That is the expectation this year which we hope leads to a great deal of success. We have a very challenging schedule with six consecutive road games in the second half of the season so it’s quite important we play well early on, not just in the latter part of the year. Any let down or multi-game slides could hurt us a great deal so it’s important to remain focused and be there for one another through thick and thin.”
Strengths:
“We have a great group of seniors returning who are very talented and have seen the lion’s share of varsity minutes for the last few seasons. Experience and leadership should be a strength for us. We have some juniors and sophomores as well who also have seen a lot of varsity minutes in their young careers,” Ladd said. “Defense and intensity are a strength of ours due to the inherent toughness of our girls coupled with their athleticism. We turned other teams over to the tune of 28 per game and almost 40% of opponent possessions and I expect those numbers to be similar this year with adding new dynamics to our defense and having athletic players more comfortable in the system.”
Weaknesses:
“We need to find a balanced way to score the basketball without turning it over. I hit on the turnover rates in describing our strengths. While turning other teams over 39% of the time is great, that kind of production is almost nullified when we turn it over 30% of the time ourselves,” Ladd said. “Teams make adjustments, both in-game and over the season, that directly impact the ways we can consistently score. When we struggle to convert in transition, we need to rely more on controlling the possession to get a good shot instead of throwing the ball all over the gym and sometimes that means we should get a good look from range. Hopefully, our summer and preseason work yield success in our shooting because we couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn last year.”
(player profiles courtesy of Coach Ladd)
Key Returnees:
Annie Raynes (Senior)
Raynes is a dynamic athlete who can hurt people all over the court. She can score inside and out and she is typically our ball hawk in pressure, often matching up with the toughest player of our opponent. She can fly up and down the court. She’s working on her court vision so she can play off of her teammates more this year which should bring her game to a much higher level.
Abby Knapp (Senior)
Knapp is a very tall, very long, very fast post presence for us. We play her all over the floor and she has an incredible nose for the ball which is why she led the team in offensive rebounding last year. We expect Abby to take a big step this year in terms of scoring the ball and really keeping the defense honest.
Destiny Weymouth (Senior)
Weymouth is another strong post presence for us who is a dynamic forward. She can shoot from deep and has a nice go-to post move as well. If she can get more comfortable with her back to the basket, establish and maintain her conditioning, and keep out of foul trouble we’ll be a very tough team to beat, I think. Destiny is a great leader who puts a lot on her shoulders and I have the utmost confidence she’ll do great things this season.
Halle Page (Junior)
Page is a super athletic, physical, gym rat who is a freak of nature in terms of her presence when the ball goes up. She is intense on defense with a terrific nose for the ball. She is in every scrum, constantly bothering people head on and coming from behind, and really takes pride in these aspects of her game. She’s like that fly in the summer that keeps landing on your barbecue but you just can’t swat it; she makes things miserable for the other team but she’s in such great shape and plays without fouling that she just doesn’t go away. If Halle can get us a few baskets in transition this year and continue to improve her ball handling and shooting, we’ll be very well off for it.
Samantha Ossenfort (Junior)
Ossenfort is another player who often flies under the radar. She can score all over the floor. She handles the ball fairly well and has a knack of getting to the rim. She is one of our better perimeter shooters and is a terrific defender as well. Like Halle, she can be a real fly in the ointment, so to speak, when she is dialed in, defensively. We’re really looking for Sam to take the next steps with getting her best shot off by recognizing opportunity quickly and also moving her to some new spots on defense where her athleticism and basketball acumen can maximize our success.
Madyson Kimball (Sophomore)
Kimball is a sophomore at FA who is probably one of our most rounded athletes. She is super smart and a very quick study in terms of picking up new basketball concepts. Her instincts are off the charts as well as her attitude and work ethic. Mady is working hard in all aspects of her game and can play inside and outside as well. As she gets stronger and more experienced, she’s going to be a key cog in the wheel of Pony basketball.
Key Newcomers:
Olivia Hill (Senior)
Hill is playing basketball for the first time since middle school. Offensively, she needs some polish but doesn’t appear to be very far behind the group as a whole. She is extremely coachable, a hard worker, and in incredible shape. Liv was the soccer goalie at FA and I think her instincts in that regard will serve her very well this season as she should play a key role for us in a number of capacities. We are very excited to have her as a great addition to our program.
Addie Day (Freshman)
Day is an incoming freshman and grossly undersized but don’t tell her that! She is a ferocious rebounder, in great shape, scrappy, handles the ball well, and has a tremendous “can do” attitude. She’s always smiling, even if covered in floor burns, which is an attribute I desire in every player at FA. She is a traditional guard and will play some minutes for us at both the varsity and JV levels this year as she adjusts to the speed of the game at the high school level. She has the potential to be a really dynamic player as her career evolves.
Schedule: The Ponies open the season at Houlton on December 10th. They follow that up with home against Central and Washington Academy.The game against Central on December 13th can be seen live on Eastern Maine Sports Media. We will also have coverage of the Ponies home games against Presque Isle (February 4th) and Dexter (February 8th)
Photo courtesy of Eric Ogden Photography
