When Ansen Covin looked at his roster coming into the season, he knew the team had an opportunity to be competitive, but how competitive was still a question. Now that the season is ending, coach Covin is looking forward to seeing this group compete on the big stage. “We have a strong group of upperclassmen returning this year but also have a freshman class that makes up just under half of our entire team. I knew from seeing some of their middle school times that these freshmen could be pretty good, but you just never know until you actually get to work with them,” said Covin.
Last year Memorial finished fifth at state. How this team matches up with last year’s group is a good measuring stick for their progress. “Last year we had a great crew but did lose a couple of good seniors off our state team. We gained a lot of talented freshmen this year though. I would say we are probably a bit ahead of where we were this time last year,” Covin said. “One thing I always encourage the kids to focus on is being the best teammate they can be and sticking to our process and everything else will work itself out. We can’t always drive looking in the rearview mirror or only looking far ahead of us. There is a balance of knowing your past, focusing on the now and striving for the future.”
Down the stretch, coach Covin said the team and the upperclassmen are determined to make the podium this year. One thing I know these returning upperclassmen really want this season is to make it onto the podium and be a top 3 team at state. We have been really close the past couple of years and I think the seniors realize we have a crew that can be there this year,” said Covin. For coach Covin, it’s been a fun season building relationships and watching the athletes reach their goals. “By far the thing I’ve enjoyed the most this season is seeing the relationships being built amongst the team.
Over the past few years, we have built a culture that more often than not the girls refer to each other as sisters not just teammates. We spend lots of hours together in the heat, cold, rain, shine, wind, and anything in between and the girls know they will be their best if they give their best and trust that their sisters are giving their best around them. The seniors have really embraced this culture and are helping to instill it into these freshmen. Just seeing the continued effort to
connect and encourage each other is so special,” said Covin.
