In sports, every team dreams of winning a championship. However, not all teams approach that goal the same way.
“Every day. Every day at practice we talk about it,” said Miller junior Claudia Hadlock.
“We’ll be doing conditioning [and] I’ll be like ‘we’re working for state,’” said Miller junior Alli Jo Mitchell.
Unlike some, the Miller Lady Cardinals don’t shy away from talking about their championship goals.
“Their challenge is to get to the final four. They want that, so I don’t see any reason but talking about it. You’re either going to get there or you’re not so you might as well make that goal and go for it,” said Miller Head Coach Tamra Landers.
The quest for the final four is one of the few accomplishments left for a program that’s won two district titles since 2017.”That’s our goal. Get past conference [and] districts,” Claudia said. “We take it one game at a time, but that’s our main goal is to get there and get it done.”
The lofty goal is a realistic one, despite a roster that lacks a single senior. That’s in large part because the Lady Cards have grown up playing together.
“I like to joke around to the team and to our coaches that we can read each other’s minds,” Alli Jo said.
Sometimes it looks that way on the court. And with no seniors, Miller is primed for success beyond 2020.
“It’s awesome,” Landers said. “Everybody we play is like you have your whole crew back? Yep, we have our whole crew back and we’re ready to roll.”
That makes for an exciting future, but these Lady Cards will tell you their time is now.
“We have this saying, we say 1% better each practice and that’s our goal, all practices [to get] 1% better. Hopefully this year is the year we make it to the final four,” Claudia said.
