The girls varsity basketball team sits on the bus and are on their way to their next game, some rapping, some talking, and some just glancing out the window. As the bus stops outside of its destination, the girls swarm out ready to play and determined to succeed. Their coach meets with them before they enter the gym, she speaks words of encouragement to her athletes, and reminds them that working together is what the team needs to win.
From the start of her career to now, Cy Springs Head Coach of the girls varsity basketball team, Taneisha Rogers, has gained experience and has had inspiration from her past games; therefore, our girls varsity basketball team ended the season with a 14-0 district title, and successfully made it to the playoffs. For the second straight year Rogers guided the Lady Panthers all the way to the Regional Semi-finals.
Rogers has been a coach for our school since 2014, and starting from 2018, Rogers has led the team to the playoffs six consecutive times. Throughout the years, Rogers has learned things from the different athletes she has coached and believes that has been a key part of her success. Taking different things each player taught her and making adjustments seems to be working just right because this season Coach Rogers reached her 200th win.
“One of the highlights of my coaching career was the first district championship, because no one believed in that team and so to see them able to celebrate their hard work and effort was really rewarding.”
That title was just the beginning and the list of accomplishments has continued to grow. In 2018-19 the team finished third in district and went to the Bi-District round and in 2019-20 they again made Bi-District after a fourth place finish. In 2020-21, they claimed first place in district and soared to the Regional Quarterfinals. The Lady Panthers took second place in 2021-22 and went to the Area Round of playoffs. The last two seasons have equalled a district championship and advancing to the Regional Semi-Finals.
Rogers is seen as a productive coach by many, but foremost she is adored and respected by her athletes. They see her as encouraging and ambitious. These attributes make Rogers nothing short of what is commonly seen and considered a good coach.
“She doesn’t settle, let’s say we blew out a team by 50, we finna work on these plays, we finna work on high low, we finna work on what we need to do to win. She’s very encouraging, especially when it comes to our teammates hitting threes. Where the bench is, just energy.΅ Senior, Mariyah Vincent said.
In agreement, freshman Jemini Mitchell believes that Rogers has a bond with everyone on the team and that she’s not just a good coach, but a good person all around.
Rogers is seen as a coach who wants the best for her athletes and wants them to reach their full and true potential. Ayla Mcdowell accepts the fact that she’s hard on them and precise with things, because it keeps them on track to success and to keep them focused on their goal.
As a coach, Rogers believes that her and her athletes working together to reach success, will help them reach their goals. This mindset and belief helped them make it to the playoffs. Rogers helps her athletes physically and mentally, as they will grow with this hard working and collaborative mindset.
The speakers release a sudden noise as the shot clock reaches zero. As the sound of multiple basketballs dribbling comes to an end. Athletes could be seen sweating as they return the basketballs to their racks and walk off to the locker room as their coach releases them.
