Eldredge Wants to Start Simple With Eagles
For Freedom Eagles girls basketball coach Jason Eldredge, starting with a simple goal is the first step in laying the groundwork for what he hopes to be a successful program at one of Loudoun County’s two newest high schools.
Fundamentals of the game will be stressed and ways to build team unity will be addressed. “Our program will be founded on hard work and goal achievement,” Eldredge said. “We will start with a simple goal (one win) and build from there.”
They got that win in the season opener, a 49-40 win over Broad Run, but losses followed.
Eldredge, who is in his first head coaching position at Freedom, is no stranger to success. At Westfield High in Chantilly, Eldredge coached the junior varsity girl’s basketball team and the freshman boy’s basketball team from 2002-2004. Both teams serve as feeders for the school’s varsity teams, who are top contenders in the AAA Concorde District nearly every season. Eldredge also coached football at the school (as he now does at Freedom as well), which won a Group AAA Division 6 state championship in 2003, its fourth year of existence. These things have helped Eldredge show his girls the rewards that successful teams, after putting in the time and effort, can earn.
Being the coach of a first-year program, Eldredge has stressed fundamentals. Certain fundamentals, such as footwork and moving with, or without, the ball are key.
“Agility is the first thing I stress,” Eldredge said. “The kids need to know how to move their bodies in order to execute the simple fundamentals of the game.”
After agility, Eldredge said footwork is next.
“Proper placement and movement of the lower body will enhance an athlete’s ability to execute the essentials,” he said.
Like all first-year teams, the Lady Eagles have weaknesses. Eldredge said there are four girls in Freedom’s program (two on varsity) who had played organized basketball before this season. Eldredge’s team is also young, as their starting varsity lineup consists of two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. The program’s membership is small as well, with nine girls on the varsity, eight on the junior varsity, and eight on the freshman. Eldredge hopes these girls will bond and set the program’s foundation.
The Eagles also have strengths, which the coach thinks will give his team an identity.
“We are extremely fast at the guard position and we are a tough group of kids who have a lot of fight and no quit,” Eldredge said.
The Lady Eagles have had a predictably tough going, as injuries left the team with only seven available players. The first-year school also had two long road games (at Sherando, and at Loudoun Valley), where they were outscored 178-23.
“We don’t quit, we just can’t keep pace when the girls start to wear down,” Eldredge said.
The Lady Eagles do feature two strong players who Eldredge thinks will be the program’s leaders. Junior forward Chris Burke is the most experienced player.
“She is very vocal and has decent footwork,” Eldredge said.
The other player, freshman guard/forward Elizabeth Turpin, who has the most potential and athletic ability on the team, according to Eldredge. Turpin was slowed by an early-season ankle injury.
“She is a quite player,’’ Eldredge said.
For Eldredge and the Lady Eagles, patience is a necessity.
“We are going to take our lumps, but we get better everyday,” Eldredge said. “The kids are working hard and we will have four classes (two full) next year to choose players from. This is a learning experience for everyone, including myself, so hard work, and staying positive is the only medicine.”
As Burke puts it, the players all just want to have fun.
‘’We’ll all come together and really focus on playing together,’’ Burke said, ‘’so that next year we’ll be ready to take off.’’
