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01/03/2018 11:00 PMPaige Atkinson plays pivotal roles for the Valley Regional girls’ basketball team. Paige is one of the team’s senior captains and does major work on the boards for the Warriors. She’s also the vocal leader of the squad, and sometimes that comes with a quick-witted joke that makes things fun for everyone.
Paige has seen a major shift in the Warriors’ fortunes on the court through the course of her high school career. The 2017-’18 season was the most successful one for Valley girls’ hoops in a long time, and Paige takes pride in being part of that success.
“Making it to states and Shorelines last season was huge, because that hasn’t happened in a long time,” says Paige. “In my freshman year, we had four wins, and sophomore year it was six wins. Then to make the jump to 12 wins and to win a couple of games in the postseason, that was really special.”
Last year, the Warriors were a team whose success was predicated on speed. With different personnel this year comes a need to adjust to different styles, and Paige’s skills at center will be key for Valley. Paige loves defending down low, but she also has a few moves up her sleeve in the post. Paige hopes her versatility will give the rest of the Shoreline Conference a different look as most teams look for jump shots.
“We didn’t have a true center last year. Now, I’m stepping into that role as a traditional center position, mostly for defense. My offensive game is mostly post moves,” says Paige, an Ivoryton resident. “I think we’re more of a shooting league. It’s not a lot of post moves or up and under. It’s more shot-fake, drive. It’s not often you see an entry pass down low and a drop step.”
Paige has worked a lot on her offensive skills with her father Shawn, who coached her from 1st through 8th grade and is now Valley’s summer and fall league coach. Paige says her dad’s instruction was huge while growing up, and she also appreciates the new things she’s learned since Geoff Konstan became the Warriors’ head coach.
“It was always constant coaching in the backyard, shooting, and working on things...It’s helped me work on my skills each year, and it’s really boosted my game,” Paige says. “When I came to high school, I was excited to get a new coach and hear new things. It helped me to have a new set of eyes, and I liked having a different style.”
Paige’s main game is making sure she ends the opposing offense’s possession by collecting the rebound. To Paige, it’s the desire for the ball that will get her the board, along with stopping the opposition from getting anywhere near it.
“Mostly for me with rebounding, it’s finding a body. I know I want the ball more than they do, and I know I’m more aggressive. I’m trying to push them back as far as I can and get the ball to drop in front of me,” says Paige. “When we play taller people, I try to force them to go over the back, and I’ll try to help my teammates get the ball, too.”
When Paige gets a rebound, she’s already looking to get the offense started, and makes a quick pass to a teammate motoring down the court for an easy bucket.
“My goal on defense is to shot block and rebound. If I get a rebound, I can outlet really quickly,” she says. “[Heidi Clark] or [Alexis Finnerty] will leak out, and I’ll look to make that outlet pass.”
As a senior captain, Paige believes it’s not only important to connect with her teammates on the floor, but also listen to them when they need someone to talk to outside of the gym.
“I think it’s important to be a leader on and off the court,” Paige says. “On the court, you have to communicate, boost morale, and be there when things go bad and pick everyone up. Off the court, you have to be there for your teammates to talk to. It’s important to have someone there to talk to that’s not the coach.”
Coach Konstan sees a great leader in Paige and says she’s always willing to say something that a teammate needs to hear. Sometimes that means boosting someone with kind words, and sometimes it’s just making them laugh. Konstan says Paige has a knack for finding the right time to crack a joke.
“Paige is just an outstanding kid. She brings high energy, and she’s easily the vocal leader of the team...She’s a role model in the way she plays on the court and how she acts off the court,” Konstan says. “She’s also one of the funniest kids I’ve ever been around. She’ll make the team or coaches crack up, but she won’t do it at the wrong time. She brings those moments of levity at the appropriate times...She’s the definition of what you’d want in a captain.”
Paige believes this season will be another successful one at Valley Regional. She feels the prospects look good now that the younger players are learning the Warriors’ schemes and what it takes to play at the varsity level. According to Paige, the most important thing is for everyone to continue playing together.
“There are a lot of freshmen and newer players on the team. We want to get everyone involved. We’re trying to get them to bring the intensity. We want to get them to a level that we know they can play at,” Paige says. “Our whole team is very unselfish. We want to make that extra pass to get a great shot, instead of just a good shot. We aren’t looking for the three-point, razzle-dazzle shot. I think now that we’ve had a couple of games, our team chemistry is really good.”