When this year's SCD seniors were just starting out, the only thing more full than their potential was the time they had to reach it. When they reached the state quarterfinals in basketball and won the region tournament in softball as freshmen, you could see them putting enough gold championship banners on the walls to create a perpetual sunrise in the gym. And, when they got within a couple wins of state titles in both sports again as sophomores, Next Year appeared only as far away as the next time they took the court or the field. Timing and geography had been kind to unite Erin Shields, Tamar Gal and Danielle Hernandez, the heart of this class. And the diverse and complementary skills they brought to SCD made the wait for a state title seem more an expectant countdown than an off chance.
Problem is, they're still waiting.
When the group was juniors, they were upset in the first round of the state basketball playoffs and the last two years they didn't qualify for the region softball tournament. Before any of them knew it, four years were almost gone and those hopeful freshmen had become seniors still holding onto hope. And all of a sudden, When is Now. That's the biggest motivation. Gal and Shields have been playing varsity for four seasons.