This year, Columbus Academy Girls’ Basketball welcomes their new coach with open arms and hopes for a successful season. Coach Pete Baumann is hoping to jump into a victorious year with the Vikings.
Coach Baumann has been playing basketball “since [he] could walk.” He discovered his passion and talent for coaching as an assistant at OSU and went on to become a skills coach for several AAU programs before settling in as coach at Columbus State CC. Here he turned around a “struggling women’s program, and took them to the regional finals last year.” Hopefully he can do the same with our blossoming program at Columbus Academy.
Baumann came to Academy for two big reasons: “#1 The kids here. In order to succeed at Academy you must be a focused and driven individual. Those type of people are usually also tough competitors and that’s the kind of player I love to coach. #2 The opportunity to build and develop a program. Having the ability to get players started in the program at the Middle School level and watch them grow and develop as players and teammates all the way through Upper School is exciting.”
Baumann and senior captain Kelly Brown have similar perspectives on their situation, and similar ideas for the future. Academy’s team is a fresh one. Baumann and Brown chose not to speak about players they’ve lost, but instead about returners and new freshmen. According to the coach, Kelly Brown, Christina Lee, and Kennedy Sulton will all play a big part in their games. He also notes that there is considerable talent in the freshman class. Kelly agrees, joking that fans should look out for her this year, as well as “all the returners” and the “big freshman class.”
This may not be the year that Columbus Academy Girls’ Basketball will easily win every game, however, Baumann is working to help them “develop mental toughness and team chemistry” throughout the season. Eventually he aspires to help Academy have a championship program.
For this season, the girls are hoping to beat their rivals, Worthington Christian, Grandview, and Bexley.
Written by Louise Rosler’16
Schedule:
January:
03 @ West Jefferson 7:30pm
06 @ CSG 5:30pm
09 @ London 7:30pm
13 vs. Madison Plains 7:30pm
17 vs. Whitehall-Yearling 7:30pm
20 @ Delaware Christian 7:30pm
23 @ Bexley 7:30pm
27 vs. Worthington Christian 7:30pm
31 @ Grandview Heights 7:30pm
February:
03 vs. Horizon Science Academy 5:30pm
06 vs. West Jefferson 7:30pm
10 vs. London 7:30pm
12 vs. Gahanna Christian Academy 5:30pm
14 @ Madison Plains 2:00pm
Players
Kelly Brown’15
Riley Ransom’15
Christina Lee’16
Eva Schottenstein’17
Kennedy Sulton’17
Tori Abell’18
Briyana Dragin’18
Alicia Harmon’18
Lexis Hughes’18
Skyla Johnson’18
Julia Leet’18
Kyra Zoog’18
