Seniors play leadership role off the bench for Rams girls basketball

Though not regular starters, the two seniors on this season’s Roaring Fork High School (RFHS) girls basketball team know they have an important job to do. And they’re up to the task.
Through the early part of the season in December, Avery Smith and Lelany Gardesani proved to be valuable relief coming off the bench in support of the Rams’ oftentimes fast-and-furious game plan.
Besides that, as the senior leaders on the team, they know full well they have an important mentorship role to help keep a talented young core of junior, sophomore and freshman players pumped and ready to go come game day.
“I feel like my role as a senior is making sure everyone feels comfortable and a part of things … picking them up when they’re down, and giving them feedback when they need help,” Smith said after a recent practice as the Rams prepare for the 3A Western Slope League season to start.
“Something we really work on is making sure everyone is included and working together,” added Gardesani. “We all came in this season willing to work really hard to try to achieve something better, and as a team we’re excited.”
Their leadership extends beyond the gym to the hallways and classrooms of RFHS, where Smith is student body president and Gardesani is a peer tutor and a Link leader, helping incoming freshmen make the transition from middle to high school.
After an unexpected coaching change to open the season, when Colorado coaching Hall of Famer Albert Blanc had to step down due to health reasons, the Rams got off to a 3-0 start. They concluded the pre-holiday slate at 3-2, with the only losses coming to a pair of perennial contenders in the 4A ranks, Kent Denver and Moffat County.
Gardesani and Smith have been a big part of the success thus far, and will be crucial as league play begins, said veteran girls basketball coach Mike Vidakovich, who took the reins of the Roaring Fork program following Blanc’s decision.
“As basketball players they’re doing a good job, but as people, they’re just great personalities,” Vidakovich said of his senior duo, who also bring some versatility to the team.
“Lelany is a natural guard but I’ve had to play her at the post position, and then Avery and (junior Lexy Sanchez) come in at the guard position,” the coach explained. “So, I feel like we have eight pretty solid players to rotate in, and that’s going to help us because we do try to full court press and race up and down the court.”
Through the early part of the season, the Rams have gone with a starting lineup of juniors Erica and Carley Crownhart and Maddie Anderson, sophomore Nikki Tardif and freshman Riley Bevington.
With a furious start to the league season that will rival the Rams’ style of play, those parts can prove to be interchangeable.
The Roaring Fork girls and boys were both set to resume play Wednesday night, Jan. 10, on the road at Meeker, followed by another away game at Cedaredge on Friday and a home game on Saturday against North Fork (girls varsity at 2:30pm, boys at 4pm).
Then, it’s off to Parachute on Tuesday to take on defending league champion Grand Valley — the first of four straight away games.
Gardesani and Smith said the Rams have the drive and confidence as a team this season to do well in the highly competitive 3A league.
“I definitely feel like we’re in better shape than we were at this time last year,” Gardesani said. “Just doing the drills and getting more shots (repetitions), it feels like we’re way ahead. And, just the whole team chemistry is better.”
Focusing on fundamentals is a key part of that, Smith said.
“I think last year that’s kind of where we were lacking, and where we were making some mistakes,” she stated. “This year, I think we’re more about getting those basics down.”
The Roaring Fork boys, meanwhile, got off to a 1-6 start on the season before the holiday break, and will be looking to right the ship headed into league play.
Virtually all of the team’s losses were to 4A and 5A programs, however, and third-year coach Jason Kreiling said he believes that experience will only help the Rams heading into the post-holiday schedule.