The varsity girls basketball team has a new coach in JJ Anderson and he's wasted no time in giving the squad a new outlook on both sides of the court.
"The biggest change is that we're working on full court pressure," Anderson said. "We've got a faster paced offensive system and that has been the biggest challenge going from a controlled system...we've struggled with turnovers early."
So far this season, the Cougars are 3-2, with wins over Folsom and Turlock and Weston Ranch of Stockton in the CBS Holiday Classic. The losses were to River City of West Sacramento in the CBS tournament and at Bear River of Grass Valley.
Find out what's happening in Fair Oaks-Carmichaelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"One of those losses was to a Top-20 team in River City by four (points) in overtime (58-54 on Dec. 1)," said Laura Noble, a junior point guard and co-captain. "If we keep playing like we have so far, we'll go further."
Del Campo's other co-captains are seniors Amora Harding, a forward, and guard Kayla Josephson.
Find out what's happening in Fair Oaks-Carmichaelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"With the new coach, we've changed up our philosophy," Josephson said. "We're looking strong and we hope it will work going forward."
Harding said the team will only get better going into league play.
"We want to go to the playoffs," she said. "Our toughest opponents are Christian Brothers and Bella Vista but I think we match up well with them."
Anderson said league play will be competitive.
"All the teams are tough; there are three to four teams that could win it so there's a lot of parity," he said. "Our captains lead by example... and are vocal and always busting their tails."
Del Campo plays in the Placer Tourney this weekend, starting tonight against Foothill of Palo Cedro at 8 p.m.
---
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.