The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We are already better now than we were at the end of last season”
By Than Acuff
It was baptism by fire last year for the Crested Butte Titans girls’ basketball team with just one senior on the varsity team, a host of sophomores and a freshman that had coach Anna Bressinck and assistant coach Garrett Dimon pivot their plan with the future in mind.
“We had to get back to basics last year,” says Bressinck. “We went through a lot last year with a team that needed a lot of growth.”
They did end up finishing the season strong winning two of their last three games with an admirable amount of commitment given the struggles they had. That level of commitment has already proven to carry over this year and after just one week of official workouts, Bressinck sees the fruits of their labor last year.
“We are already at a higher level than where we ended last year,” says Bressinck. “We spent a lot of time last year in the dirt planting seeds and they’re starting to bloom.”
Not only that but Bressinck has a crew of assistant coaches to help with Dimon back in the fold, Heidi O’Neil joining the staff fresh off the volleyball season and Presley Bennett coming in after an extremely successful Texas high school basketball career as well as playing Division I in college.
“She brings a younger energy and has seen it all,” says Bressinck.
As for the Titans, they’re looking to have as many as 10 players on the varsity rotation this season with a mix of well-seasoned seniors and juniors, and a sophomore who got significant varsity time last year as a freshman.
“We’re bringing back a lot of varsity experience and a young group of players that are working really hard,” says Bressinck. “A lot of growth happened between last year and this year. We’re already better now than we were at the end of last season. I’m excited about what we got.”
Defense is the name of the game for the Titans with potential starting varsity players also the anchors of the girls’ soccer defense. With that in mind, Bressinck’s goal is to hold opponents to 40 points.
“I have a lot of naturally good defenders,” says Bressinck. “Now we need to figure out how we can play defense together.”
In addition, Bressinck wants the players to focus on the little things throughout the season, winning the little battles at both ends of the court.
“We want to get them mentally prepared to approach the season and have more little wins than little losses,” says Bressinck.
The Titans open the season on the road against Salida on Tuesday, December 2 and then host Cotopaxi at home on December 6 at 4:30 p.m.
No matter what happens early on, Bressinck sees something this year where all of their grit and determination last year now has some technical ability and experience thrown in the mix.
“We’ve gone from being really young to really old quick,” says Bressinck. “They bring a confidence and maturity to the gym. On paper and the way we’ve started has got me really excited for a positive season and we will see some really good things out of these kids.”
