Photo Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times
The 8th grade girl’s basketball team recently achieved a remarkable accomplishment, completing their second straight year undefeated. Their 7th grade season they finished the year strong with nine wins and zero losses and followed up in 8th grade with 12 wins and zero losses. There was team unity and cohesiveness throughout which sparked the two season success. As Jordan Schachler ‘27 states, “Our team was very close because not only were we together for the 7th grade season but every single one of us were friends outside of school and we are very comfortable with each other.” After 7th grade, the team knew how to play together even though not everyone played basketball as their primary sport.
When has this much dominance in a single team across two years ever been seen at ECFS before? As head of athletics, Gus Ornstein states, “This is quite the rare success for a middle school team.”. Ornstein noted that it has been a bit of time since a team had this success across more than one year. There has been winning in other sports, such as volleyball and soccer, but not what we have seen with this 7th and 8th grade girls basketball team. Ornstein also has a different lens on this team. As a parent for his daughter who is on the team, Ornstein states, “It is fun to watch them compete and win, and it is fun to watch Zoe play and it makes me happy watching her succeed.” As an athletic director Ornstein states, “It is more that you are happy for the kids, the team, and the coaches as well as being proud of the work they put into the game.”
This success was fully fueled by the girls themselves. Before each game they would get each other excited, make each other feel confident, and the girls challenged each other. The team also had practically the same team for both their 7th and 8th grade season which assisted with how comfortable the players were with each other knowing each other’s style of play. The team developed cohesiveness which played a large role in their achievements.
Another important aspect of what fueled the team’s success is that they didn’t have designated captains for each game. As the head coach, Diane Toth states, “We did not have captains this year. Each game, two different players were selected to be the team representative who met with the officials prior to the game to review some technical and house rules. There were however, many players who led by example with their superior basketball skills, enhanced basketball knowledge and a willingness to remain undefeated for a second year in a row.” This system allowed for each player to attempt to earn a leadership position while also empowering the entire team each game.
With two fantastic years behind them, it will be exciting to see what the future holds for these talented girls as they leave 21-0 in the past and head to high school basketball. Jordan Schlachter ‘27 states, “I think it will be different in high school to be on different teams, and we still have to adjust but we will definitely support each other no matter what even when we get placed on different teams. Although we are sad our middle school basketball is over, we are excited to start new friendships with the teams we will be on next year!”
