Coming off a 10-14 season one year ago, Liberty Christian junior Mallory Boenker said that she and her teammates want to take things one step further.
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Coming off a 10-14 season one year ago, Liberty Christian junior Mallory Boenker said that she and her teammates want to take things one step further.
Sure, success on the basketball court would be nice, but, to a player, she said, that success has to be achieved the right way.
True success, she said, can’t always be measured in wins and losses.
“It (being successful) means working as hard as you can, having the ‘we not me’ mentality, and making sure you play with Christian character,” Boenker said. “(That’s) because at all times you represent God, your family and your school, so you have to represent well.”
Boenker and her teammates will work hard to represent their school well, given their relatively young team.
Only one starter from last season, senior forward Trina Scheltens, returns to the squad, which is coached by Kim Meyer.
Meyer said that she already likes what she sees from her youthful squad.
“We are a very teachable team,” Meyer said. “We are willing to work hard. Defense wins games, so the more we work hard on defense and learn to protect each other and the (basket), the more we will excel. Trina is a force on defense and is leading the girls well with hustle. She has a no-quit attitude and does it with a smile.”
Like Boenker said, Meyer hopes her team will achieve much more this season than can be quantified by a scoreboard.
The coach aims to have her young charges continue to grow in skill and teamwork just as much as she seeks to have them grow in character and integrity.
“We are building a strong foundation,” Meyer said. “Our team’s motto is ‘train for more than a game,’ which comes from 1 Timothy 4:8 ‘Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.’ It’s not much good for athletes to become strong in body and ability if we don’t have strong character and integrity. Everything we do should honor God in this life.”
On the court, the team has already seen significant success.
Liberty, which won Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association state championships in 2007, 2014, and 2021-23, has won two of its first three games this season.
With so many younger players, Meyer said she thinks the team will have one definite advantage.
“I think this team can very easily be underestimated,” she said.
While Boenker stated the need to represent faith, family, and school, she echoed Meyer, noting that there is another important guiding factor for the Eagles.
It’s about team unity.
“I think that we can accomplish a lot as long as we keep working hard and staying unified as a team,” Boenker said. “We all have a good work ethic, give everything our all and have a great unity within this team.”
This season, Meyer will be assisted by Jacob Meyer, Lauren Moss and Alli Meyer.
Members of the team include: Scheltens and fellow senior Zoey Goddard; Boenker, who is the lone junior; sophomores Emma Roden and Addy Scheltens; freshmen Elsie Kimmel, Bristol Barron, Morgan Boenker and Callie Dickson; and seventh grader Elsie Goodfellow.
