If it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it, seemed to be the approach of Humboldt High School administrators after promoting girls assistant coach Rob Myers to head coach in the offseason.
Myers began his first week helming the Lady Cubs this week and doesn’t plan to change much from the previous regime of coach Aubrey Jones, who has moved out of the district,
“It was an easy transition for us. Aubrey built a great program,” Myers said. “I get to use a lot of that, plus I get to bring in some of my new stuff and try to open our game a little bit.”
Many area programs spent the first few practices implementing their offensive schemes. Due to Humboldt returning three seniors with significant varsity experience, Coach Myers jumped right into the finer aspects of the Lady Cubs’ game such as their press-breaker and fast-break offense.
“These girls know Coach Jones’ program. They know her plays,” Myers said. “That’s what we’re going to use a lot. We’re fortunate we have a lot of girls who had playing opportunities. These girls know their role and you will see our seniors step up.”
Laney Hull believes much of what made Humboldt successful in their run to the state tournament on the volleyball court will also make them successful on the basketball court.
The first week seemed more of a remedial course but once they refamiliarize themselves, they will be deadly while many teams are still getting settled in.
“We’re all pretty close already, especially because a lot of us were on the volleyball team,” Hull said. “Once we get our plays down, we will be golden from there. Getting in, getting loose, being a few practices in, we feel pretty strong. It’s just a matter of keeping the momentum and drive to be successful.”
Myers credited Humboldt seniors and upperclassmen for getting the Lady Cubs quickly acclimated.
Myers said he purposefully platooned upperclassmen among the groups of freshmen and sophomores to get them up to speed faster, which allowed him to focus on the finer points of the game.
“They’re going to work with them. They’re going to tell them the right spots to go to,” Myers said. “I have those good leaders who can take on some of those coaching roles, so it eases that tension on me.”
