In the traditional progression of athletic talent at the high school level, a varsity basketball team's roster is comprised of juniors and seniors, sprinkled with a few sophomores, while freshmen are relegated to play at the junior varsity level.

Several area girls' teams have thrown that tradition out the window.Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, and Pleasant Valley are three schools that are not only starting freshmen game after game, their "rookies" are performing with above average success."Nowadays, freshmen already have a lot of basketball experience when they first show up for the high school program," said Lehighton coach Eric Gidney."Speaking on behalf of my two freshmen daughters, Kayley and Payton, they have played thousands of basketball games before they stepped foot on our high school gym's court," adds Rob Kovac, who has a total of six freshmen on his varsity squad as coach of the Lady Olympians.Kovac contends that the influx of freshmen talent does not necessarily mean that upper class players are underdeveloped. He says that very young girls who are serious about the game start to play competitively in grade school. Then they move onto middle school and CYO teams and AAU programs.Gidney said that when his star freshman, Aubrey Blasiak, isn't competing in a varsity game, she's outside two to three hours a day playing basketball."Aubrey will play another 23 games in the Catasauqua summer league as well," he says.According to Kovac, three-sport high school athletes "have gone along the way of the dinosaur." Now many athletes are specializing in one sport at very young ages and he doesn't think that's necessarily a good idea."When they are very young, some coaches are urging them to play basketball year round," said Kovac. "It's good for experience, but it's not good for the overall development of the athlete. It's nice that they come to us game-ready, but we need to be careful they don't burn out at some point because they are dedicating themselves to one sport too much."The freshmen at JT, Lehighton, and PV are made aware that too much of one thing may not be healthy so they are all participating in other sports such as cross-country, spring track, or tennis.Sometimes, a freshman player has the good fortune of stepping into a program that's in transition.Pleasant Valley's head coach, Natalie Gauronsky said she has started ninth gradrers, Masani Francis, Morgan Covart, Vahania Richardson, and Mikaylea Miller on many nights. They are seeing significant court time because the Lady Bears graduated seven seniors from last year's roster."The opportunity is there for them," she says. "They are athletic as well as talented and are working toward the goal of helping our team be successful."Gidney, who also sends freshmen Skylynn Faust, Julia Frey, and Savannah Buchinsky into each game, makes the point that just because they may be younger, "they are not intimidated by the bright lights and the big stage.""In my program, age and grade don't matter," he said. "We play the girls who work well together, show competitive poise, and give us the best chance to win."There are two issues that may surface when freshmen replace or take several minutes of playing time away from seniors. What about the loyalty certain seniors have given to the program for four years? Moreover, is there a sense of animosity amongst the veteran players when the coach plays freshmen?"I wouldn't want my own kid on the floor just because she's a senior, " said Gidney. "I understand that seniors want the most playing time, but at the varsity level, the goal is to win and that is always the priority. Our girls understand that. Those who play the best, play the most."Gidney, Kovac, and Gauronsky agree there is no animosity on their teams. Their players accept whatever decisions are made to help their teams succeed."We have our own separate freshmen team too," said Gauronsky. "Along with an in-house AAU program, our players are developed with a team concept philosophy. There is no favoritism because of class rank."Kayley Kovac and Aubrey Blasiak have had significant impacts upon their respective teams."Kayley is a dynamic player," says Rob, her father and coach. "She's a volume shooter and we expect her to put up numbers every night. Our older players have adjusted very well to her ability to take over a game offensively.""I started playing basketball in the third grade," said Kayley. "With my dad being a coach, I have always been near or on a basketball court for as long as I can remember."Despite playing her first year with the varsity, Kayley likes the pressure and responsibility of being the go-to player."I expect to score, but when I am double and triple teamed, I will pass to an open teammate. It's all about playing together and doing what it takes so we can qualify for the district playoffs," she says."Aubrey Blasiak plays with an ability and maturity beyond her age, but she's a true freshman when it comes to her humble demeanor and her quiet presence amongst her teammates," said Gidney. "She fits our philosophy and system extremely well. She's an excellent ball handler who plays fearlessly in big spots. We would like her to be more vocal when she plays the point, but that will come as she gets older.""I feel like I have a lot of experience already," said Blasiak, whose high game thus far this season was 23 points against Panther Valley. "I've played booster club, AAU and travel ball so I was ready for high school basketball."One of Blasiak's personal goals was to start for the Tribe, and another is to score 1,000 points by the time her Lehighton career is finished."I want our team to qualify for the districts," she adds. "We have to keep winning to do it this year, but we should be even better next season because we will have a lot of players coming back."Gidney has been impressed with Blasiak's basketball intuition and his star player comments to that effect."I see the floor well when I have the ball," saidBlasiak. "I can find the open player with a pass, but when the game is on the line, I want the ball to make the big shot."Other area freshmen have also brought their game to their varsities. Palmerton's Linnaea Leister, Northern Lehigh's Jill Olewine, Panther Valley's Christina Dacey, and Marian's Tina Capparell have all broken into the area's list of top scorers.These girls are proving that they have bypassed any growing pains long before they started playing varsity basketball.One can also imagine how exciting it will be to follow this group of fab freshmen during the next three basketball seasons.**********THREE-POINT SPECIALIST ... Panther Valley's Macey Markovich hit three three-pointers Tuesday against Blue Mountain to give her 48 on the season.That total tied a Lady Panther record for most threes in a season. Markovich is currently deadlocked with Dana McFadden, who hit 48 during the 2009-10 season.Markovich, who has scored 144 of her 156 points from beyond the arc this season, has 112 treys in her career and is 14 behind McFadden's career record of 126.**********STREAK CONTINUES ... The Panther Valley boys lay claim to a current three-point mark.The Panthers have hit at least one trey in 109 consecutive games, which is the longest current streak of any Times News team.The last time PV didn't hit from beyond the arc was Feb. 13, 2010 against Tamaqua.**********TIGERS' TWOSOME ... Northwestern's tandem of Parker Jones and Brady Mengel recently accomplished something that has been done only one other time in team history.After Tuesday's game at Northern Lehigh, Jones has totaled 40 three-pointers while Mengel has hit 35 of them.Only one other time at Northwestern have two teammates collected 35-or-more treys in the same season. That happened in 2003-04 when Ryan Horvath had 40 and Ryan Oxley finished with 35.**********PREDICTABLE RESULTS ... You could say the result of the Lehighton boys games this season have been somewhat predictable.In the 18 Indian games, Rich Oertner's team is a perfect 11-0 against teams with losing records but is 0-7 against schools with winning records.The Marian boys have a similar claim. The Colts are 5-0 against teams with losing records, 0-7 against teams with winnings records, and 1-2 against teams currently at .500.**********CRASHING THE GLASS ... Although the performance didn't involve any local teams, the numbers put up by Salisbury senior Meagan Eripret against Saucon Valley last week is worth mentioning. In a double overtime Colonial League victory over Saucon Valley, Eripret pulled down an incredible 35 rebounds. Eripret also had 13 points and three blocks in the game as the 6-3 center dominated the paint. The statistics come courtesy of Times News sports writer Todd Kress, who covered the game for the Salisbury Press.Eripret has committed to play for Division I Lehigh next season.**********"PLAYOFFS?...PLAYOFFS?" ... As of today, five Times News coverage are teams have clinched a District 11 playoff berth.Boys: Tamaqua (AAA), Lehighton (AAA)Girls: Palmerton (AA), Marian Catholic (AA), Northwestern (AAA)**********MARIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS ... The most recent District 11 championships for Times News area teams belong to Marian.The Colts were the last boys team to earn a district title, winning the Class A crown during the 2010-11 season.The Fillies were the last girls team to win D-11 gold, taking the Class A title last season.