A summer filled with hoops
The high school basketball season might be more than four months away, but for some area players, the summer has been filled with action on the court.
The Foireann 15-and-under and 16-and-under AAU girls basketball teams, which include players from Mars, Knoch, Freeport, Highlands and Pine-Richland high schools, began practicing shortly after the high school season ended in March.
Tournament play for both teams began in April and wrapped up last weekend in State College.
But the crowning achievement in both cases came at a tournament in Ocean City, Md., June 23 and 25, which included teams from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania.
"We go into every tournament believing we can win if we play our game," said Jim Petruska, who coaches both teams and is assisted by Knoch varsity girls assistant coach Torey O'Donnell.
The 15-and-under team went 4-0 to capture the championship while the 16-and-under team went 3-1 en route to the title.
For the latter squad, it was the second tournament championship of the season. The 16-and-under team also won the Iron City Classic, a competition held at Avonworth High School in May.
At the Ocean City event, it took a last-second shot to seal the deal.
Foireann was down by one point to a team from Maryland in the title game.
"We brought the ball up with about 10 seconds left," said guard Stephanie Clowes, a student at Freeport High. "Sara (Montgomery) had the ball at the foul line and they just collapsed on her. She kicked the ball to me and I remember Coach Petruska saying, 'Hit it, hit it,' and I did."
The shot completed a 180- degree turnaround for the team since performing badly in a tournament at Fox Chapel High School in May.
"We ended up winning just one game there and that was by forfeit," said Petruska. "I actually had a player quit the team after that. I was confused as to what happened to the team.
"My mother (Dana Petruska) coached 19 years at Mars, and if there's one thing I learned from her, it's that defense is the difference in the game. So, I totally revised our game plan. I changed up our man-to-man defense, and it really made a difference."
"We realized how bad we played in that tournament and we didn't want to perform that way again," said Lizz King, a shooting guard from Knoch. "We really came together as a team after that."
The 15-and-under team's title in Maryland featured no last-second shot, but it couldn't have proved any more special to the team's players, including forward Mallory Seibel."It was a great accomplishment and I've never felt that way before," she said. "Our team is made up of girls from four different high schools, and we came together to win a pretty big tournament."Seibel is the last player you'll find taking time on the basketball court for granted."I broke my back playing street ball last August, and it made me miss the entire (high school) season," said Seibel, a junior who will vie for a spot on the Planets varsity roster in November."The AAU season is a great way for me to get back into playing and get back into shape."Montgomery was originally a member of the 15-and-under team. But due to a shortage of players on the 16-and-under team, she began pulling double duty.Needless to say, she didn't complain about the extra work."I don't mind it at all," said the Knoch High School center. "This is what is going to make me better for the high school season."The high school season — that is where Petruska hopes his players truly find out just how much AAU basketball has changed their game.He has seen both sides of it all, having been an assistant coach for the Mars girls varsity team from 2002-05."I think it's very important for high school players to play on different teams during the summer so that they can expand their game,"he said. " I've seen tremendous improvement in all of my players."Hopefully, they can take what they've learned back to their high schools and help make their teams better."The Foireann teams would not have experienced such a memorable summer had it not been for the generosity of Dave King.King previously coached an AAU team made up of players from Knoch and Freeport high schools. That team combined this summer with Petruska's squad to form the Foireann teams.But King has managed to help the players in other ways."Dave has been tremendous," said Petruska. "He's taken care of everything for us. He was responsible for getting us everything from gym time for practice to uniforms, sponsors and meals for the girls when we're on the road."
