When Paul Ventura became the coach of the Mingus girls basketball team for the 2018-19 season, he expected that it would take a couple of years for the program to grow. By his third season, though, he made it clear that he expected to see some kind of success on the court. For Ventura and the Marauders, Year 3 is here.
The offseason has been challenging. COVID-19-related restrictions kept the Marauders from having any kind of summer program and with that, Ventura didn’t really get to track the progress and work of the players. That’s left a more compacted preseason practice schedule than usual. The Mingus players, though, have adjusted well to it.
“I think it’s going really well,” senior Chayce Doerksen said. “We’re getting that rust off. We weren’t able to practice much over the summer so we’re trying to catch up and get ready for the first game. I’m really proud of this team. We’ve all fought hard lately. We’re having really fast-paced practices, trying to squeeze everything in. I’m proud of them for working hard and really thankful to our coaches for giving up all this time for us.”
“Because of COVID it’s been a little rusty,” senior Emma Hoggard added. “But everyone is working really hard to catch up. But we’re looking like we could have a good team.”
The Marauders have three returning senior starters — Doerksen, Kobe Madore and Yaz Mestas. Hoggard, the team’s other senior, split time between varsity and junior varsity last year and figures to have a bigger role this year. That’s the case with sophomore Taylor Brock, as well. Hoggard and Brock both play in the low post. That will allow Doerksen to play more on the perimeter, a role that — despite being over 6 feet tall — she’s more comfortable with.
The delays caused by the pandemic and the uncertainty of which schools will even be playing has made it somewhat challenging to lay out any goals. Ventura, though, said that he’d like the Marauders to have a winning record in the Grand Canyon 4A Canyon Section and be no worse than .500 in the other games. He also wants the team to consider every day that they get to play together during the pandemic a blessing and have an enjoyable season. His players agree.
“I would definitely like to win a couple of games this year,” Mestas said. “But other than that, keep a tight bond with my girls.”
“I just want to work on the team chemistry,” Madore said. “Last year we had a really hard time clicking. This year we want to keep on clicking and keep that for next year and the next year. Keep having that team grow. Just staying strong on the court and off the court. I’m hoping for a really good year — better than last year. We can’t do much worse.”
The last couple of seasons have been tough. The Marauders were 0-22 last season and have gone 3-42 over the last two seasons. The last non-losing season for the Mingus girls came in 2012-13 while the Marauders haven’t had a winning season since 2008-09.
Ventura, though, is noticing a different attitude with Mingus than he’s seen in the past. There’s less anxiety with the team than he’s seen in past seasons and the anxiety that the Marauders are feeling is hardly unique to them.
“I will say that in years past we’ve felt some anxiety going into the season,” Ventura said. “The only anxiety I feel for them right now is the COVID related anxiety. They don’t feel any basketball related anxiety now. Which is positive for me. Because that’s not something I have to break through for them.”
“The only one they’re feeling right now is, ‘Are we going to be able to play?’” he added. “And that’s what everyone’s feeling.”
