BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Very young South Laurel girls team looking to contend for another region title

Logan Paugh, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Nov. 28—South Laurel Girls Basketball Team is looking to get over some growing pains and injuries going into the 2022-23 season.

Last season, South Laurel finished with a record of 24-9. The Lady Cards fell short in the Region Championship to Corbin where they lost by two points.

"I have been coaching for close to 30 years. This will be one of the youngest teams I have ever coached. Now that does not mean we don't have talent, because we do." Coach Chris Souder stated. "We are going to go through a lot of growing pains"

South Laurel is returning only one senior in Emily Cox. The rest of the squad is made up of one junior, three sophomores, one freshman, and seven 8th graders.

"I am going to have to be patient," the coach continued. "This will be a learning process for all of us, when you are dealing with freshman and middle schoolers, and you are asking them to grow up a lot quicker than they need to, but thats just where we are at right now."

He praised senior Emily Cox for her leadership in dealing with the younger kids.

"She truly is an amazing leader, and always has been" Souder said. "She is trying to do her best with these younger girls, trying to lead them in the best way possible."

The Lady Cardinals will play a very tough schedule, and Coach Souder wants to make sure that his group does not give up on themselves.

"We are going to go through some ups and downs but you have to try and learn from those," he said. "We are running a marathon, not a sprint. It's the little things that are going to determine how far you go."

Emily Cox recalls going to two state tournaments, and reflecting on her five years at South Laurel, said, "It was so eye-opening for me, and honestly going to the state tournament my freshman year, I would like for these girls to experience that as well."

Cox also praised Coach Souder for always pushing her and the team to be the best they can be.

"He is the best coach I have played for," she said. "He has taught me so much about the game of basketball, but not even just basketball. He has taught me many things that I could take out and use in my every day life."

Cox continued, "Being a leader is something coach Souder always told me I had. This year, I am the senior, I have the team on my back. It is a lot of pressure, and sometimes it does get hard because you get lost in everything going on. I have to be the bigger person and stand up and let the team know the way we need to go."

South Laurel is set to begin the season November 28 against Letcher County Central.