East will take small steps out of cellar

Just when she thought she was out, East pulled Andie Goff back onto the basketball court.

Goff has been coaching girls basketball and softball in the NIC-10 since 1978, but dropped basketball five years ago. That changed when she saw East go 0-32 in the conference the last two years.

“The girls were in dire need of some direction and optimism,” Goff said. “I can’t sit back and watch what was happening. I want them to like the game again. We want to put pride back in the program and give them a reason to work harder.”

The size of Goff’s task is shown by East’s slogan: “Our opponent is ourself.”

Before the E-Rabs have any chance against NIC-10 teams, they’ve got to stop beating themselves.

“It’s a huge task,” Goff said. “It will be interesting to see the progression, because I think we’ll see a better team the second half of the season once we get our bearings and get used to a new coach and a new system. We’re short, so we’ll have to learn fundamentals and box out those big guys.”

The E-Rabs are 10-118 in the conference the last seven years, with half of those wins coming in the senior year of all-conference center Tiffany Chatman, who once scored a conference-record 49 points in a game. East has no one like that now, but does have 12 freshman and 12 sophomores among its 31 players. That gives Goff hope.

“It doesn’t seem like I’ve been gone that long,” Goff said. “I walk in the gym and it’s a natural process again. The nice thing is we have numbers. We can build from that. We have bodies and interest. It’s fun.

They need to realize they have to play more than just the high school season to get better, and that’s our goal, to make them want to play more.

“If I’m going to put my name on a program, it’s going to work. I see some optimism here. Our steps might not look significant this year, but the sheer numbers of freshmen and sophomores show we’re ahead.”

-- Matt Trowbridge, rrstar.com

E-Rabs at a glance
Coach: Andie Goff (first year).
Last season: 0-25 (0-16).
Returning starters: Sherrell Woods (Sr., 5-6); Ramarra Garrett (Sr., 5-5); Tanya Grisgby (Sr. 5-1).
Other key players: Yivanna Martinez (Jr., 5-5); Kassandra Sanchez (Soph., 5-1); Candance Hensley (Soph., 5-7).
Strengths: Good influx of young players with 12 freshmen and 12 sophomores.
Weaknesses: Just about everything. East is starting from scratch.
Outlook: Large freshmen and sophomore classes give East a desperately needed dose of hope. The E-Rabs will probably finish last again, but even a couple of wins would show the program is moving in the right direction after going 0-32 in the NIC-10 the past two years.