Take Five: Day Two of 2011 USA Women's U16 National Team Trials

Colorado Springs, Colo. • May 27, 2011

By Friday evening (May 27), the 112 athletes who have taken the court for the 2011 USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team Trials will have participated in three 90 minute skills sessions, and their first true trials session. While the skills sessions focused primarily on fundamentals and drills, the first trials session consisted mostly of scrimmaging.

Since arriving Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., the up-and-coming and extremely talented group of players has collectively learned about USA Basketball and its national teams and sat through classroom sessions about the U.S. Anti-Doping Association, maximum performance and college recruiting. They have also reviewed important fundamentals on the court with 1996 U.S. Olympic Team assistant coach Ceal Barry, who also was the University of Colorado's successful head coach for 22 seasons.

At then end of the process Monday morning (May 30), it's expected that just 12 players will be named to the 2011 USA Women's U16 National Team, a squad that will represent the USA in the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship June 13-18 in Merida, Mexico.

USABasketball.com caught up with five of the trials participants to hear about their experience thus far.

Alexis Carter (Tigard H.S./Tigard, Ore.)
How do you feel about the trials so far?
I think things are going great. I love being here. It’s high-intensity and a great atmosphere. I’m excited.

What did you do to prepare?
A lot of shots on my own. I mentally visualized, watched games and stretched to make sure I’m healthy.

What’s been the biggest surprise for you?
I honestly didn’t know what to expect.

What’s been the best part of the experience for you?
The best part of it would definitely be playing with all of these top athletes from around the country and just being able to compete against them.

Do you know many girls here this week?
I know the girls from Oregon. I’ve played with three of them in the past, and I’ve known the others from other tournaments.

Courtney Ekmark (Saint Mary’s Catholic H.S./Phoenix, Ariz.)
How do you feel trials are going so far?
I think they’re going really well. It’s really fun; I’m having a blast.

Has anything surprised you?
Not really. I just came in ready and can’t wait for the rest of it.

Did you come in knowing many girls that are here?
I know a bunch of girls here. Their faces are familiar from camps. Some of my teammates from high school and AAU are here. It’s fun hanging out with them off the court.

How did you prepare for the trials?
I basically did what I normally do. I just worked as hard as I could. I’ve been really excited for this for a long time, so it was easy to work hard.

What has been the best part of the experience so far?
The best part is just being here and putting on a USA jersey. That’s like a dream come true. Also, I get to compete against the best girls in the nation, so it’s really fun.

Aaliyah Lewis (Bishop Ford H.S./Staten Island, N.Y.)
What did you do to prepare for the trials?
To prepare myself, I just thought about how big of a deal the trials are. As a point guard, I was just thinking of the basic things that I needed to do, like leading the team and getting everyone else involved.

Do you know many girls here this week?
I’ve seen some people at Nike Nationals; I’ve even played against some of these people, so yeah, I know a few. One girl from a couple of years ago remembered me.

What has surprised you so far?
There are a lot of good girls out here; there’s a lot of good competition. There’s also a lot of height.

What’s been the best part of the experience so far?
The best part has been having these good coaches teaching us. I’m learning a lot of new things here.

How do you feel about trials so far?
I think everything’s going good so far. I’m just trying to get everyone better and make friends. That’s what we’re here for, to have fun.

Kailee Severt (Moorpark H.S./Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
What did you do to prepare for the trials?
I got in the mental mindset that I knew what I had to do when I came out here. I knew I had to work hard and do my best.

Do you know many girls out here this week?
There are a couple girls from my club organization, and I’ve played against most of these girls.

What’s surprised you?
There’s a lot of competition, a lot of height. You have to try your best and do what you can do.

What’s been the best part for you so far?
The best part so far has been playing with girls that are better than you or as good as you, so that you can work harder.

How do you feel about the trials so far?
They’ve gone good. I’ve gotten better. I’ve picked everything up, and I know I can do it all.

Mae Williams (Monarch H.S./Lafayette, Colo.)
What did you do to prepare for the trials?
I've been playing club basketball, and I also train in other sports, so I've been through training pretty much all year. This year, I played soccer and volleyball as well.

Do you know many girls out here this week?
I only know a couple of girls here and the few that I've met on my teams during drills and stuff.

What’s surprised you?
It kind of surprised me how much footwork we went over.

What’s been the best part for you so far?
The footwork and the training with Coach Ceal Barry. It's really good to review I think, because I need to work on all that stuff.

How do you feel about the trials so far?
Pretty good. I feel really good physically. It's a little nerve-wracking.