“Celi as a junior was a Little Eight Conference All-Conference player and the Arrows stat leader in all categories,” reported Johnson.  “Because of low numbers in the upper grades younger players had the privilege to see a great deal of court time on JV and Varsity.  The Arrows had a JV program that was very talented and brought a lot of energy to the Varsity level.”

Behrens, Finkelson, Paulson, Marisa Ludwig and Ava Ellingson received extensive varsity playing time and will be expected to fill starting roles for the Arrows this season.

“Our JV/Varsity team will look very similar this year with only one senior, no juniors, 3 sophomores and 8 freshmen with some girls filling roles at both levels,” noted Johnson.  “As eighth-graders, Ivy Aufdenkamp, Lucy Ohren, Kaitlyn Finkelson and Sienna Williams gained experience and earned court time with our JV program.  We are so excited to have good numbers in the 8th and 9th grades.  Having a young team with some, little or no varsity experience, anyone is capable of having a great game.”

Johnson sees the Little Eight Conference as very competitive with several teams capable of challenging for the conference crown.  “Underwood has several key players returning and were the LEC Co-Champs last season with Parkers Prairie, who graduated LEC MVP Faith Alberts.  Both programs have strong teams again.  Brandon-Evansville and Battle Lake are returning this season with a good core of players who have varsity experience and come from strong JV programs.  Hillcrest and Rothsay’s programs have really been fun to watch grow under Head Coach and FFHS alumni Hannah Clark and Head Coach and Rothsay High School alumni Anita Heier.”

Johnson says teams to watch in Section 6A are Underwood, Breckenridge and Hancock.

“The Arrows are preparing for a challenging season,” added Johnson.  “They need to show growth throughout the season, learn from both wins and losses, be prepared for each game, and work hard even when you feed defeated.”