By Mark Gregory
Editorial Director
@Hear_The_Beard
mark@buglenewspapers.com
When the Joliet Catholic Academy girls basketball team took the court against Benet Academy last week, it was a worse-case scenario for the Angles.
Jenna Hernandez and JCA are working hard to gain experience within a new system. (Photo by Mark Gregory)
The Redwings, one of the top programs in the state of Illinois, were coming off back-to-back losses and were looking to right the ship.
Despite a 59-13 loss that saw Benet only play its starters in parts of the first and third quarters, first-year JCA coach Jim O’Brien saw the positives in the play of the Angels.
“Our girls played hard,” O’Brien said. “It is hard to compete with six or seven D-I kids, but it is great to see where we want to get to. The practices are great, the kids work hard all the time.”
With youth and inexperience coupled with a new coach and new system, Joliet Catholic will have its share of struggles this season.
“We are going to struggle at times against the good teams,” O’Brien said. “This is a great conference – probably one of the best in the state and every night is a grind. We will play anybody and we will show up and see what happens. We have to get back to practice and keep getting after it. We lost three starters from last year that are playing travel soccer. The team was young then, now we are older, but without the experience. Last year, (former coach) Nick (Leonard) was starting five freshmen at one time.
“This is all new for them – it is a new offensive system, a new defensive system and it takes time, we will be just fine.”
O’Brien takes over the program that is on its third coach in five years.
He comes from the boys program where he was under Joe Gura.
“I was freshman boys coach and when coach Leonard went to Yorkville to take a counseling job, Joe Gura and Dan Sharp approached be and pretty much said they wanted me to take over the girls program and I was honored,” he said.