Ithaca High School girls building bright future

In 2017, Sydney Trumble was a leader on the court for the Ithaca girls basketball team. Following a four-year college basketball career at SUNY Oneonta, Trumble is back with the Little Red as the team’s head coach. Coaching an exceptionally young team without a junior varsity squad, Trumble hopes to get the program back on track.

After graduating earlier this year and returning to Ithaca for a job in real estate, Trumble knew she wanted to get into coaching at her old school, starting at the junior varsity level.

“I took the junior varsity head position for the volleyball team, and I also then took the JV head basketball position,” Trumble said. “But then, we had some coaching changes. We’re still being mentored by Tim Little, who has been the head coach for the past couple years of the varsity team. But with low numbers this year, we had to not have a JV team, and now, we [just] have a varsity team.”

Former head coach Tim Little is an assistant coach now alongside Trumble, helping the transition from one coach to another be as smooth as possible.

“He is instrumental to our program,” Trumble said. “He knows basketball. He likes to say that he knows the X’s and O’s, but he does way more than that for this team. He is somebody that the girls look to. He’s been in their life for a while, and he’s somebody that also went through the program on the boys’ side. Just to have three coaches that are from Ithaca and know the area and know what the program is about is really crucial to the development of the girls.”

Development is what this Ithaca team is all about. There are only three seniors on this year’s roster after only one graduated from last season’s team. The starting five of the Little Red consists of one player from each class year, from eighth grade to senior.

“The youth that we have on this team is unbelievable,” Trumble said. “We don’t have a lot of upperclassmen. Because of COVID, we don’t have a lot of players that have a great amount of experience in the basketball world. But this team, we have some leaders on the team that have been able to lead the younger players. It is a transitional year, though, because we’re getting back from COVID and being able to adjust to kind of a new normal.”

Having all of those talented young players is a great opportunity for Trumble in her first year as the head coach. The roster will look relatively similar for years to come, making the future bright.

“They are very impressionable and smart players,” Trumble said. “They’re athletic and they’re great teammates. Just to be able to have so many of them in the gym at this level really helps us be able to create the dynamic that we want on the court. It’s only going to get better for this group. We know we’re in the early stages of this season. We know it’s not always going to be easy for us because we are facing teams that have more experienced and older players. But every game, we develop and we get better and we’re working towards a stronger future.”

There are just two players with varsity experience beyond the shortened season in the spring — juniors Mia Little and Tatyanna George. Little was a starter as a freshman two years ago and is the focal point of Trumble’s high-tempo offense.

“[Little] does the things that you can’t coach,” Trumble said. “She has that grit and that intensity. She has a high basketball IQ. She sees the floor and she understands the personnel that she’s playing with. She continues to grow her game every single day and she doesn’t settle. She’s one of the players that can push and she’s a leader by example. She pushes her teammates every day to get better.”

High school coaches are generally not as young as Trumble is. In her opinion, that’s helped her connect with her team more effectively.

“Being so fresh off of the court, I can understand a player’s perspective and why things are done a certain way,” Trumble said. “There’s always going to be different dynamics on the team. You can’t treat every single player the same. Everybody’s wired a certain way for any of their own reasons. So, being able to adapt different learning, different capabilities and different motivational skills to really bring this team together is what it’s all about.”

The Little Red are 1-3 this season, but the main message from Trumble to her players is that they’re building something beyond just this year. From their young coach to their young roster, the Little Red will be a team on the rise for years to come. Up next for Ithaca will be Seton Catholic at home Dec. 22.

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