After the retirement of legendary girl’s basketball head Coach Retiff, the team didn’t know what the next season would hold, but fast forward a year later, with new head coach Lauren Power, they sit tied for first place with Notre Dame, looking to accomplish their goal of winning the Inter- Ac.
Coach Power grew up playing basketball, which has been a huge part of her life. She played high school basketball at Archbishop Ryan in Northeast Philadelphia and then went on to play college basketball at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
After college, she got into coaching early with a high school and club near the University of Virginia. From there, Coach Power got into college coaching, at West Point, Manhattanville and Yale University.
Coach Power loved coaching college teams, but she figured it was time to get back into the high school side of things. Soon thereafter, she became the Athletic Director at Sacred Heart and then went on to the Academy of Notre Dame located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, where she spent five years.
This raises the question of what led Coach Power to GA.
“First and foremost: the community. Everybody I met in the interview process early made me believe this was a family and a great community to be a part of and a place where my kids can come and I can raise a family here, so I think it was really the people that sold me on this place,” Power said.
Coach Power’s main goal for the team is to create an atmosphere where athletes want to come back and be a part of the sisterhood, feel the energy around the program and be there for all our players in whatever capacity they need.
Senior Izzy Casey described this year’s team as fun, friendly and driven.
“I think I can speak for the team when I say we all really like Coach Power. It’s been a really smooth transition,” said Casey. “I think it’s hard for a coach to take over from a legendary coach. She’s energetic, and she brings 100 percent to every single practice.”
One of the biggest differences between adjusting to Coach Power was the team’s defensive principles. With Coach Retiff, they played more of a zone defense and forced middle, or in other words, to get the other team’s players to drive through the center of the court, but with Coach Power, they play more of a man-to-man defense and forced sideline, where they focus on keeping the opposing team’s players out of the middle.
The goal for the girls’ team is winning the Inter-Ac, and they have a great shot.
“It’s going to be really tough because the Inter-Ac is super talented this year, but every day at practice, we think about how that’s our goal,” Casey said.
Coach Power has stepped up to the challenge of following in the legendary footsteps of Coach Retiff. She is lively and energetic in practice, brings new coaching ideas to practice, and is coaching the team into another successful season of Girls’ Basketball.