It's reloading, not rebuilding, for Geneva
While I confess I don't know what kind of music Sarah Meadows prefers, I doubt the Boomtown Rats can be found anywhere on her iPod.
Unlike former Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldof, Meadows actually likes some Mondays.
This past Monday was definitely one of them.
Monday marked the first official day of the high school girls basketball season, and Meadows presided over Geneva's opening afternoon practice session for the fourth time as the Vikings' head coach.
"I love the first day," said Meadows, who has guided the team to a 69-24 mark since taking over in 2011. "You wait so long for it to get here and then it's like you've got to wait all day - just get here already 3 o'clock."
Nobody can blame Meadows for being a little impatient.
Nearly 8 months ago, Geneva capped a magnificent season with a fourth-place finish at the Class 4A state tournament.
Plus, the Vikings return 40-plus points from last year's team as well as their top 3 rebounders - 6-foot-2 sophomore Grace Loberg, 5-10 senior Janie McCloughan and 6-foot senior Abby Novak.
"Our posts are going to be our strength for sure," said Meadows.
There are some big holes left by graduation as well.
It is never easy to replace experienced talent and veteran leadership provided by last year's senior group, led by guards Sidney Santos, Morgan Seberger and Michaela Loebel.
Seberger, who drained 56 3-pointers last season, is eying her first basketball season at Southern Indiana while Loebel recently completed her freshman soccer season at the University of Nebraska.
Santos, meanwhile, is preparing for her first season playing basketball at Oakland University after compiling solid numbers for the Vikings a year ago. She was Geneva's all-everything player, averaging 8.3 points, 5.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game last season.
"Those three kids were like the face of Geneva basketball for three years - they played varsity for three years," said Meadows. "We're looking to fill some huge shoes."
With Novak out with an illness, Loberg practicing for the Vikings' Tuesday night sectional semifinal volleyball showdown against Benet on an adjacent court and McCloughan slowed by a sore foot, Monday's first practice gave Meadows an opportunity to focus on the backcourt.
"Abby is sick, Janie is working on her foot thing and Grace is still playing volleyball," said Meadows. "We've got some big kids who we need back. The kids who are here right now are the kids who need the work - our guards."
Meadows often referred to Santos as providing the "glue" for her team last season. For now, she's looking for some scotch tape but she is confident her team will address its biggest question mark by season's end.
"Our kids will answer that," said the coach. "They're going to learn every single day. We've got young kids playing. We've got some juniors and even some freshmen here today."
On Day 1, Meadows saw some good things from her guards.
"I thought Kate Rogers did fantastic today," the coach said of the 5-7 senior guard. "I was impressed with her."
Day 1 included some ballhandling, some shooting and plenty of conditioning.
"A lot of the basics," said Meadows. "Getting up and down the court - seeing how bad we are playing fast right now - and conditioning. Every drill we did was up and down. They don't realize it but they're just running nonstop. We also worked on the mental game, trying to push through the drills."
The Vikings' season opener is Nov. 22 at the Glenbard East/Rachel Bach Memorial Tournament, leaving Meadows about 2 ½ weeks to put it all together.
"We've got a lot of work to do," admitted the coach. "We haven't won that tournament yet so that's goal number one. We've played there for three years and we haven't won it yet."
McCloughan, who will join Seberger at Southern Indiana next year, is happy to see the calendar turned to November.
"I'm just so excited," said McCloughan. "It seems like it has taken forever since the end of last season. Everyone has to adjust but I think it is going to be an awesome run this year.
"No matter what, Geneva ball has a way of not rebuilding but reloading," she added. "Even when you graduate amazing players like Sidney Santos, Michaela Loebel and Morgan Seberger, there are other people who step up to the challenge. There are other people willing to get in the gym every single day and do what needs to be done for the team."
The Vikings, who have won 6 consecutive regional titles as well as 2 sectional crowns in 4 years, hope their state experience from a year ago provides a boost in 2014-15.
"I think it's huge," said Meadows. "They know they can be successful. They've tasted it and they want it again. The younger kids hear about it and they want a piece of it as well."
You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com