Don Struck has been coaching basketball 42 years. He’s never called up so many freshmen to a varsity team. Columbia-White Salmon’s fourth-year coach is taking “a leap of faith” this season.
“We have six freshmen on varsity,” Struck said. “That group is really hungry, they’re good athletes and they’ve played together since they were very young.”
That doesn’t mean it will be an entirely seamless transition to the varsity game. The Bruins are still a little undersized after finishing 5-15 last year. Six-foot junior Keri Hylton is White Salmon’s only post player.
But there’s reason for hope in the near future.
“We’re going to run and press,” Struck said. “We want to out-race everybody.”
Five-foot-4 guard Mya Aman and 5-4 guard Chloe Clifford return after all-league seasons. Freshmen Sydney Aman (5-4) and Maggie Bryan (5-4) look “very promising.” Teagan Blankenship, a 5-3 freshman, also stood out in practice.
