Full name: Karla Aguirre
Grade: 12
Position: Shooting Guard

How many years have you been on varsity/JV?
I played JV my freshman year & varsity 10th, 11th, and now 12th.

Please provide a recap on the varsity team last season. (record, memorable moments, needed improvements, etc.)
Last season was my best basketball season so far. In my opinion, it was the strongest team we’ve had in the years that I’ve been at the school. Although our record was 5-5, I feel like we improved a lot from the year before. The most memorable moments of last season was when we won a Championship in the WATTS Tournament over the summer and another Championship in the Garfield Tournament during the winter.

Coming into preseason, what improvements does the team need to make?

Coming into preseason we definitely have a few things to work on especially since we didn’t practice much over the summer. Our defense is one of our main priorities right now because that is what wins games. We need to work on our rotations and we also need to talk more on the court.

What is needed to be achieved this upcoming season? (goals, etc.)

Similar to the previous question, one main goal for this upcoming season is to get our defense down. I mean, we have to make it solid and strong. The other teams need to be scared of playing against us because our defense is so good that they won’t be able to score. Additionally, we need to memorize all of our new plays because although there are many, it would make scoring a lot easier.

Please provide a description of a typical day at practice.

A typical day at practice starts off with stretching. Then we usually do a few warm up drills but the drills are actually really fun so I don’t mind. After that, our coach usually teaches us new offensive plays. We go over them a few times then add some defense. Same thing goes when we’re learning new defense, we go over it then throw in some offense. Sometimes when we’re lucky, our coach will let us scrimmage full court which is definitely my favorite thing to do during practice.

Who are your rivals? What do you hope to achieve when facing that rival?

I think everyone knows that our school’s rival is Taft, but not for the girls basketball team. Yes, it’s important to beat Taft but I believe that our actual rival is El Camino only because of competition wise. The past 3 years that I’ve been at Birmingham, we’ve never beat El Camino. They’re a good team and last year is the closest we’ve ever gotten to beating them. Now I think it’s our time to break the chain of losing against them.

How is the team looking so far?

This year we’re looking very good for a team that just got a new coach at the end of summer. I think we’re adjusting to our new coach well and we’re all getting better individually.

If you could change one thing about the team, what would it be?

If I could change one thing on the team it would probably be our height. I feel like we need more tall people on the team. Although being a small team comes in handy sometimes because we’re usually faster than most teams, I think our posts need some help down low.

What is the relationship like between the girls and the coach?

In my opinion, our relationship with Coach Koop is great considering the fact that we’ve only known him for about 4 months. It can only get better as we get closer to season.

What helps the team bond together as one during a game?

Communication is what helps our team get through games together as one. Although we need to work on talking on the floor while playing defense, when it comes to time outs, halftime or anytime we can talk during the game such as free throws, we will tell each other what we’re doing wrong and how we can fix it.

Anything else you want to add?

I love my team. I wouldn’t want to enjoy my last basketball year with another group of girls and I’m beyond excited for this season.