Plum girls basketball builds from ground up

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 22, 2018 | 11:00 PM

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In his time coaching in District 3 and in Maryland, first-year Plum girls basketball coach Steve Elsier built programs from scratch. In his experience, he feels there are three important steps to success.

“We have a saying that we put at the top our each practice plan that we post that says, ‘Commitment, Progress, Program,' and we put it that order for a reason,” Elsier said. “Commitment means make sure you're here early ready to go and not coming in when it's time to start practice. That will lead to progress, and that will lead to us having a program.”

Elsier said commitment and progress have been there, and it's starting to show in the win column.

After starting 0-7, the Mustangs (4-12, 2-5) have won four of their last nine games and find themselves battling Franklin Regional, Kiski Area and Indiana for the fourth and final playoff berth in Section 4-5A.

Plum won the Penn-Trafford Christmas tournament Dec. 27-28 with victories over the host Warriors and Ringgold and followed with section wins over Indiana and Franklin Regional.

The Mustangs have one senior on the team, and the victory over Penn-Trafford brought relief. Freshman Kennedie Montue had a career-high 29 points in the win.

“The Penn-Trafford game was probably the best game that I've ever played,” Montue said. “Not only did I play offense, but I played defense and as a team we all follow each other. When we see someone trying to pick someone up, we all lean toward them. I don't know if I ever played defense like I did in that game, and when I started getting pumped, everyone was pumped.”

Said junior guard Alexa Seigh: “It felt like a giant weight was lifted off our shoulders. We had been losing a lot, and it was because of little things. We would play good on offense one game, and the defense wasn't there or the opposite would happen. It felt so good to finally complete the puzzle and get a win.”

Improving in what the team calls “the little things” has added up.

For example, Elsier credited Montue, a 5-foot-10 forward, for becoming a better rebounder and competitor against upperclassmen. Montue's improvement dovetails with the rest of the players, whom Elsier said have responded to the individual challenges presented to them.

“We have one-on-one meetings with every player twice a week, and we tell them where we want them to become better,” Elsier said. “With Kelsi Zik, we've talked about shot selection and understanding time, score and situation, whereas with Alex Seigh we've told her to look to score more. With Mackenzie (Lake), we tell her to take care of the ball and that every possession is huge. (Tuesday) night (against Franklin Regional), Jamie Seneca did a great job defensively. She's a freshman, and her minutes have gone up each game. Each player individually has done little things that we've asked them to do better, and that has led to us playing better as a team.”

Plum hosts Kiski Area on Tuesday, travels to Indiana on Feb. 1 and plays Feb. 8 at Franklin Regional. All three games will play a role in determining which team makes the postseason. Armstrong, Hampton and Mars are the top three teams in the section.

While Elsier is working to establish his system, he also has his eyes on the macro level of the entire program. He's become involved in helping the youth leagues and is trying to foster a connection that will lead to more participants and stable year-to-year numbers.

Last season, the Mustangs saw a dip in participation and did not field a junior varsity team. There has been enough interest to restart junior varsity this season.

“What I see with Plum girls basketball is a market with untapped potential,” Elsier said. “With the youth program and the middle school, we have real talent. It's about getting everyone on the same page and running a real program.”

Elsier selects a youth player to be recognized at each varsity home game, and that player gets to spend time with the varsity players. Montue and Seigh enjoy the interactions and are happy to help the future of the program.

“Coach tells us when their games are, and we'll go out sometimes and support them,” Montue said. “They look up to us, and they think we're great basketball players. They love to see us come out and watch them.”

Said Seigh: “We've been hosting little kids camps, so we're getting the kids in and teaching them different drills. When I was a younger girl, I always looked up to the high school players, so it's really cool that we get to interact with them. At home games, (Elsier) gives a certificate to a youth player that has stood out and done something well. They get to hang out with the team a little before the game, and they get to do the handshakes before the game.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

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