Hauser’s Madelyn Poe shoots a reverse layup over North Decatur’s Madelyn Bohman Jan. 24 at Hauser High School.
The Republic file photo
After taking over as Hauser girls basketball coach in the spring of 2022, Kyle Shipp didn’t have much time to prepare for the summer season.
This year, Shipp had a wealth of games and other activities planned for his team during the month of June, when coaches can work with their teams in practice an game settings.
“It’s really the first time to have a real summer with this group,” Shipp said. “Last year, with being hired so late, we were really patchworking things together for the summer. We look at the summer as that first step in the season. It’s always a real good time to get an evaluation as a team and work on skill development. We want to work on team building for the next season.”
The Jets played 18 varsity and 16 JV games. The varsity hosted its own shootout and went to shootouts at Franklin, Indiana Wesleyan, Ball State, Corydon Central and Triton Central, mostly on Tuesdays and Fridays.
“We were busy during the week, but we wanted to give other kids a chance to play other sports,” Shipp said. “We took Mondays off for the Monday Night Volleyball League that Hauser hosts, and we tried to give them off Thursdays so they can have their own summer as well.”
Hauser ended the summer season by participating in the Indiana Wesleyan team camp.
“We were able to do some team-building events. Those events, all the team was able to kind of grow and become a special unit. We traveled from Corydon Central to Ball State, so we saw the southern end of the state to the northern third of the state. We’re just trying to get the girls to see different schools and different players and bond with one another through basketball and other events and have a good time and become more of a cohesive group.
“Then we go back into individual training in the fall before we start our season,” he added. “We’ll be focusing on individual skill development during those periods of time.”
The Jets had 18 players this summer, 10 of which played with the varsity. Incoming seniors Madelyn Poe, Kenze Bostic and Bella Kilps and incoming junior Norah Berkenstock are returning starters and were joined by senior Erykah Everroad and juniors Haven Hartwell and Willa Wetzel in the core group.
Sophomores Chloie Phelps, Sammy Mires and Braelyn Williams also saw some varsity action this summer.
“I think the biggest thing is the development,” Shipp said. “The biggest thing was seeing an improvement in our incoming sophomore class. The seniors are getting a taste of being leaders. Then, the group inbetween, the junior group and figuring out where they fall.”
Bostic missed the second half of last season after having surgery in December to remove a bone spur in her heel. She has been splitting her time between basketball and volleyball.
“We’re really looking forward to what she can bring,” Shipp said. “The events she was at, we really liked what we were able to see coming off the injury.”
