ROCHELLE — Team offense and shooting are among the key points of emphasis for the Rochelle Lady Hub basketball team as head coach Jon Gehm and his players returned to the hardwood earlier this month for the start of the program’s offseason summer schedule.
“We’re working on more team offense than we did last summer,” Gehm said. “We want the girls to build good habits and get rid of the bad ones. They’ve had a lot of energy and it can be tough since we go so early in the morning, but they’ve come in with a good attitude and they’re ready to work. We had some good playmakers last year who are back from last year, but it’s all about spacing and that’s where our team offense this summer will come in. We want to teach good habits so our girls can create space and get to the basket on more straight line drives.”
The Lady Hubs held their first summer workout on June 2 and are practicing three days a week on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 a.m. In addition to the summer workouts at RTHS, Rochelle will once again participate in summer league action at Byron, where the Lady Hubs will square off against several local programs including Sterling, Boylan, Dixon and more.
“We always want to hammer shooting,” Gehm said. “I thought we had some moments early in the season where we had some good shooting performances, but as the season went on, we had some tired legs and we didn’t shoot very well. We’re trying to get a lot more reps in with catch-and-shoot drills and off-the-bounce shooting so we can create more consistent shooting.”
Seniors Carmela Bright and Jaydin Dickey are among the leaders back in action this summer for the Lady Hubs, who will conclude their three-day-a-week workouts on June 26. The Lady Hubs, who’re shooting to improve on an 8-23 season during the winter, are also replacing four graduates including starting forwards Abby Metzger and Kendyl Darby. Seniors Abby Bozinovich and Mary Chadwick are two players who Gehm said have made an impression this summer. Senior Meredith Bruns, who didn’t play for the Lady Hubs year, has also given the team a boost.
“It starts with Jaydin and Carmela since they’re two seniors who’ve played a lot of basketball for me,” Gehm said. “They know what I’m looking for and watching both of them grow as leaders has been a lot of fun and it’s been really important for our program this summer… The summer is more about offense for us, but when we get up and down the floor and when we’re playing in Byron, we want to make sure we’re working hard defensively and we’re rotating over. We won’t do much other than man-to-man this summer, but I’ve been pretty pleased with our defense.”
Juniors Reese Kissack and Dylan Etes, along with sophomores Audrina Rodriguez and Natalie Foster, are four more players who Gehm said could take on a larger role for the Lady Hubs during the 2025-26 season. Before the summer comes to a close, Gehm said that improved team chemistry and resilience are among the biggest goals he and his staff aim to achieve.
“I really want to see us get rid of some of those bad habits like putting our heads down and putting our hands up when something doesn't go our way,” Gehm said. “I really trust our skillset and I think we’ll be able to have a productive season, but we need to have the right attitude.”
