Coming into a brand new school and being introduced to a whole new system is a difficult feat for some freshmen, let alone as part of an existing sports team.

Freshmen Olivia Lemus, Skylar Drum and Jaycie Bishop are three freshman who managed to make their way to the Lady Lions varsity basketball team.

Not many athletes get the opportunity to play at the varsity level as a freshman.

“Honestly, they just deserved it,” said Nick Wood, the head girls’ basketball coach. “I mean they came in and they worked really hard. They showed throughout practice that they were ready to handle to mental and physical level of varsity. So we trusted them, and we put them out there in that environment, and they handled it very well, so we kept them out there.”

To give the girls a head start, they attended the preseason workouts and even played together on a summer tournament team.

“There was a summer team that we played on to do tournaments [and] to get to know each other and work with each other,” Drum said.

The freshman worried about whether or not they would be valued on the team.

“I was actually kind of scared of coming up as a freshman,” Bishop said. “Seniors and juniors were actually really respectful about it. They treat me as any other player.”

Although they were excited with the achievement of making the varsity team, they encountered what Wood described as the “freshman wall.”

The high school sports experience is a longer season than at the middle school level. It also requires a lot more skill and effort, according to Wood.

“They are used to playing in middle school where they are done with the season in December,” Wood said. “Now in high school, it’s a grind. It is a four-month process, so there have been moments where they have had to fight through that freshman wall.”

Even with the teams trust behind them, they continue to look for ways to improve.

“Overall, I can improve on ball handling and shooting,” Lemus said. “I am always working to be a good teammate.”

Though she showed that she could handle the varsity level, Lemus always sees room for progress.

“The upperclassmen give me determination to be better,” Lemus said.