The Apopka Girls basketball team has had a great season this year beating most of their adversaries. As of this moment, the girls are at 12 wins and 8 losses overall this season, giving them a 0.60 win percentile. Many of their games have been tough and hard fought.

Each of the losses has been only by a few points. Three notable close calls were their losses against Mercyhurst Prep

(43-41), Edgewater (46-43), and Ocee (50-41). But Apopka has had its fair share of blowout victories, which are always great. The most notable of Apopka’s blowout victories are their wins against Evans (22-75), Lake Nona (15-57), and Olympia (20-60).

One of the major reasons for the girl’s success is their head coach, Coach Hardy. When asked what she appreciates more, talented individuals or team players, she responded, “Basketball is a team sport! It’s a game where individual players work on their basketball skills to be the best. It’s my job along with my staff to take those player’s individual

level of skills and experiences and construct a competitive team.” Coach Hardy is a perfect example of a coach with the right priorities. What usually makes the best coaches is prior experience and a passion for their respective sport. Coach Hardy has both of these qualities, “I have been around the game of basketball my entire life. All four of my brothers played and I have been playing since I was a little girl. coaches have always been teaching me the game of basketball, but the game has taught me how to deal with the game of life. We prepare our team to compete but also to be ready to compete with the challenges of life.” The experiences built from team sports are a great thing to have when dealing with life later on. Around the middle of the season, every coach has their gripes and misfortunes, and Coach Hardy has not been saved from them either. “Two of our losses were less than 3 points. With 5 seniors on the roster, I expect the team to finish strong. The team and coaching staff will continue working hard to reach our objectives.” Dedication and 100% from the coaching staff almost always guarantee success.

But the other key component is the 100% effort from the athletes on the team. Michaela Moss is an athlete in Apopka High School’s girls basketball team and is driven to improve her season and performance. “I’m not really satisfied with this season. We haven’t performed as well as we could have, but it’s never too late to turn it around.” As the season progresses, repetitive muscular exercises will wear on your body and it becomes harder to perform. To counteract this Michaela stretches every day, “I usually get really sore late in the season so to prevent that from happening this year I try to stretch every day.” 

 The season has progressed and is coming to an end soon enough, and it would be a wise decision to support and watch these games before their season ends. For more information on their season, head to the website called maxpreps.com. This includes lots of information, including their schedule.