Your heart is racing, your hands are shaking, and your body is drenched in sweat. It is the championship game versus your school’s rival, and the score is tied. You are left to shoot the winning shot at the free-throw line, the referee bounces you the ball, you take a deep breath, and then the ball leaves your hands. The crowd roars as students and parents rush onto the court chanting your name. You have just won the eighth-grade championship, and this was more than just a victory. It was your 14^th birthday. And what you wanted more than anything was to win this championship. 

For some people this sounds like something out of a movie, but for varsity newcomer Melanie Munden, it was reality. Munden got the best birthday present an athlete could ask for, when in eighth grade she won the championship game. This year, Munden is a guard for the Coronado girls’ varsity basketball team. 

“It feels so great to be on varsity,” Munden said. “I’ve been on JV for the last two years, and it’s just so different, both the intensity level and the mindset. I am so grateful to be on varsity this year and I’m really looking forward to our district season.” 

Likewise, Viviana Lopez is also completing her dream of playing on varsity this year as well. Lopez has been playing since she was in sixth-grade giving her over nine years of experience playing basketball but the honor of being on varsity came as a complete shock. 

“It was a complete surprise,” Lopez said. “I was not expecting to be on varsity, especially not as a sophomore, but when they told me I was on the team I was beyond excited and extremely grateful for this experience.” 

Last season the girls’ team had a rough season and ended at the bottom of the district standings and with a 2-12 record in district. Despite this, Lopez seems very optimistic about this upcoming season. 

“I am really excited for our season this year,” Lopez said. “We have worked really hard in practices and in pre-district games to hopefully win more games. The idea of winning games really motivates me to push harder in practices.” 

For now, Lopez’s new dream is to play at the college level at the University of Texas at Austin. 

So far, the team has been doing very well in pre-district and early tournaments. They have a record of 3-5 and landed 4^th in the San Antonio ISD tournament November 15-17. 

The team won against El Paso Chapin (48-46), San Antonio Harlan (51-47), and San Antonio Lee (38-35). They have lost against El Paso Burges (53-31), El Paso High (55-45), Boerne High (33-28), Spring Branch Smithson Valley (49-26) and Midland Lee (53-32). 

This year the basketball team has been practicing every day, Monday through Saturday from 6:30 to 9:30 in the morning. The team has mostly been focusing on speed, and working to “out-hustle” their opponents.

  This good start to the season was led by their team captain Abbie Jordan. 

“As captain of the team it is my responsibility to not only act as a bridge between the team and our coach but to also provide leadership,” Jordan said. “I do this my showing respect to my fellow teammates and coaches, arriving on time to all functions, and trying my best no matter what.” 

 Jordan has accumulated many hours on the basketball court through her years playing the game. She started playing club in second grade, then played through middle school allowing her to then play for Coronado. As a sophomore, Jordan was included on the varsity roster.

As a varsity player, Jordan has experienced a countless number of hours with her teammates and have developed an appreciation for the “little things” as her basketball career comes to a close. 

“Our team has become like a second family to me. I believe that the best memories are the little ones, like team lunches or having fun in the locker room before games or practices.” 

As the leader of the team she addresses the loss of last season but she is still hopeful for this year’s season.

“Last season was a bit of a struggle, we were still getting used to our new coach and we weren’t as close as a team as we should have been but this year is different. We are all committed to the team and each other, and everyone is working really hard in practice to get ready for districts.”

Jordan is not preparing to play in college next year, but she does plan to attend Texas Tech University. 

The girls’ varsity basketball team will play the Franklin Cougars tonight, January 8th, at 7:30 pm.