Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Parma
2. McCall-Donnelly
3. Weiser
4. Fruitland
5. Payette
6. Homedale
Players to Watch
Austyn Harris, Parma
Taylor Kaiser, Parma
Abbi Roubidoux, Fruitland
Tobie Noyer, Weiser
Jacy Parker, Homedale
Graycie Huff, Fruitland
Payton Fritts, Fruitland
Madisyn Collingwood, Payette
Arianna Hernandez, Payette
Saije Camp, McCall-Donnelly
Ashtyn Jones, McCall-Donnelly
Written by: Keller Sherman
The Snake River Valley Conference seems to have a clear last place team and a clear first place team if last season was anything to go by. Parma looks to be the clear favorite while Homedale seems to be the team most likely to finish in last place. In between there is plenty of parity, however, as the remaining teams could finish in any order. Fruitland has drawn the attention of multiple teams from around the conference as a team that could potentially surprise as have McCall-Donnelly and Payette. While Weiser may not be raising the same amount of eyeballs, they will still be a threat in what should be an exciting conference race outside of the first and last place teams, but in sports, nothing is guaranteed. One of these teams could very well dethrone Parma for a conference title.
The defending conference champion Parma Panthers will deal with some notable losses in Grace Jackson and Brooke Johnson. “Grace was our all-everything girl last year. Led our team in points and played all 5 positions throughout each game. Team captain last two years, her leadership will be greatly missed,” Parma head coach Michael Calkins said. “Brooke was our best defender and was tasked with guarding the opponent’s best player. Her size and speed will be tough to replace.”
The Panthers will look to some freshmen to fill in the holes left behind by the departing seniors in Rylie Calkins and Kaidance Kaiser. Calkins stated, “Both of these freshmen are going to be really special, and they will both be expected to contribute right away.” Even with plenty of excitement and expectations that Parma can win another conference title, Calkins knows there is still plenty that his team can improve on. Emphasis points will be on points out of transition and free throw percentage. They will also travel to Sugar-Salem in December in a game that Calkins believes will help figure out where they stand compared to other teams in the state.
Payette returns multiple seniors from last season and will be counting on all of them if they hope to find success this year. “We will be returning a strong offensive trio from the past seasons and we will lean on them heavily focusing on our inside/outside game,” head coach Rashell LeBow said. “The trio consists of Sofie LeBow at point, along with our veteran posts Madisyn Collingwood and Kendyl Parsons. Adding into the dynamic will be senior Chloe McCallum as a defensive specialist. As a team we focus on creating offense from strong defense, and McCallum will have a huge impact this season for us on the defensive side of the ball.”
Three new assistant hires also took place in the off-season. “I think the new energy from these coaches will reflect in our players.” LeBow said of the new assistants. Defense was a strength for the Pirates last year particularly in presence and speed, but LeBow knows that the team will “always need to focus on limiting turnovers.” LeBow feels that her team could surprise in the SRV this season.
Fruitland has gone through some changes in the offseason like most programs, but head coach Amber Drollinger is confident these changes will help the Grizzlies do well this season. The loss of Madi Fritts will hurt the team due to her excellent shooting, but an exciting coaching change has also occurred as Shaun Hart comes in as an assistant. “He brings the big man game and is young and excited to start coaching,” Drollinger said of Hart. Rebounding proved to be a strength for Fruitland last season, but Drollinger would also like to see some improvement in the chemistry of the team overall. She is also excited to play McCall-Donnelly in their second year in the conference. “We all didn’t really get to see them last year and don’t know what they have,” Drollinger said of the Vandals.
McCall-Donnelly came up just short of a district championship in their first year at the 3A level last season, but Parma proved to be too much for the Vandals. “After playing Parma in the District championship, we are looking forward to playing them again this year,” McCall-Donnelly head coach Cody Hansen said of Parma. “We know they will be well coached, they have also won the last 5 district championships, that kind of performance tells you to get up for a game.” He also knows that Fruitland will be in that discussion as well stating, “Fruitland has a lot of players back and were right there with the best teams in the conference. They are a tough team that could win the whole thing.” Gabbi Green is a player Hansen is excited to see this season.
Weiser is attracting excitement around the league not only as a team to challenge Parma for a conference title, but a game that many teams are circling on their schedules, especially at Fruitland and Payette. Weiser finished 6-3 in conference play last season and 11-13 overall which was good for 3rd place in the conference. They earned a trip to the state play-in game for but fell 51-40 to Bonners Ferry. Two All-Conference selections are back for the Wolverines this season in first team selection Tobie Noyer and second team selection Maddie Shirts. Noyer has drawn the attention of Parma and Payette as a player to keep an eye on this season.
Homedale is coming off a disappointing season where they failed to win a single conference game and only notched two wins overall. Both of those came against a struggling 2A program in Marsing. Despite that, they are eyed by Parma coach Michael Calkins as a team that could surprise this season as they bring in a new head coach that will implement a new system on the team. The Trojans also have two All-Conference honorable mentions returning from last season in Jacy Parker and Olivia Asumendi. Both of these players will look to lead the way for the Trojans in 2021-22 as they attempt to finish higher than last place in conference play this season.