Author:	Mikayla Ferenz
	Grade:	Senior
	School:	Walla Walla
	Mascot:	Blue Devils
	League:	Mid-Columbia 3A/4A
	Classification:	4A

Eighty-Four No More

This summer, when I was helping my mom clean out old boxes in our garage from her “glory days”, I came across a WIAA State basketball program from my mom’s sophomore year when she played at Chief Sealth High School (Seattle) in 1984. While thumbing through the pages, I came across a picture of the Lady Blue Devils of Walla Walla High School. I didn’t think much of the picture other than the fact every girl had a perm and wore really short shorts. A couple of weeks later, while working out at the high school, I noticed that the girls’ basketball banner said the last time the team went to state was 1984. It’s 2014! That’s 30 years, 30 years since the last time a girls’ basketball team at Walla Walla High School has been to a state tournament. 

This year’s senior class intends to change that.  We want to leave a legacy.  We want the countless hours of driving to AAU basketball tournaments and the summer days that we dedicated to workouts to pay off. Although I would not call our last three seasons unsuccessful, as they all ended with a trip to regionals, the ultimate goal is and always has been the state tournament.

But there’s a twist: my dad just took over as our new head coach. Most high schoolers would cringe at the thought of a parent coaching but my twin sister and I and the other four seniors are used to it. My dad coached all of us through a successful eighth grade AAU basketball season, winning 6 out of the 7 tournaments we participated in. So it’s safe to say that we are used to his booming voice and meticulous coaching.

It is fitting that this is the year my dad is coaching us again because one of the most memorable pieces of advice he has ever given me is, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” This year’s senior class intends on being remembered for our finish. 

Now, in less than a week, it will be the last, first high school basketball practice for six girls; another of the inevitable “lasts” to add to the list of events of our collective senior year. The difference is that this “last” season will be the most successful one yet, as we work to break the 30 year barrier between Walla Walla High School girls’ basketball and the Tacoma Dome. And I happen to be lucky enough to finish alongside the same people I started with - my friends and family.