This year, the Warren Girls Basketball program went through several big changes. The biggest one was a brand new head Varsity coach, Jen Swanson. Coach Swanson was the former Varsity assistant coach and has experience head coaching the JV girls teams, and has over 10 years of experience coaching both basketball and volleyball. Swanson started the season in April of 2024 when post-season conditioning started for the girls’ teams. While the team didn’t particularly like showing up at 6 am every week to lift weights, the hard work paid off during summer league. The girls had an incredible summer season and implemented a ton of new plays and defensive strategies that helped them do well.

While the winter season didn’t end up the way Coach Swanson or the team had wanted, there was still much to be proud of. The girls’ team was invited to play in a Grow the Game Tournament, a tournament designed by girls, for girls. It was an incredible opportunity to play with other teams who are also coached by women, with an all-female reffing staff. The girls also had Kamaria Anderson be named as an all-conference honorable mention. When asked about something she enjoyed about her first year as head coach, Coach Swanson said, “I enjoyed the opportunity to be in a different leadership role, and create standards for a program and watch it grow as the season goes on. I loved that everyone in the program bought into my new philosophies, and pushed outside their comfort zones daily to not only improve on the court but also off the court as well.”

The girls’ team also faced a lot of challenges this season. Their record was less than desirable and the team suffered a lot of injuries. “A challenge that I faced this year was just getting used to all of the new responsibilities I had as a head coach in charge of an entire program and not just a team. As a new head coach, there is a lot to learn, and I am grateful for all the learning experiences I had this season because it will only make me more prepared as the years go on,” Coach Swanson said. The team started off the season in an incredibly hard tournament, but the team learned how to persevere through tough losses and work together as a team to use those lessons to make the next game even better. This is only a small example of the challenges that not only the team faced, but also Coach Swanson. Despite all this, Swanson never stopped learning and adapting to the challenge at hand, while still managing to crack jokes with and plan events for the team.

This 2024-2025 season is only the beginning for the girls basketball program. There were lots of things to learn from and leave behind, from this season. After spring break, the girls will start post-season conditioning again, which should help them prepare even more for the upcoming summer league season. Coach Swanson, when asked about something she would like to do differently for next season, said, “There’s not one thing that I can focus on that I would change next year, but there are many situations that come up throughout the season that as a leader I have learned from, and will make me more prepared as a leader in the future. I can’t wait to continue to grow to make the girl’s basketball program as successful as it can be.”