After Erin Coletti stepped away from her head coaching duties for Naperville North girls’ basketball, a new leader takes the reins for the 2023-24 season. Aly Miller takes a seat in the head chair this winter as she looks to keep the strong run going for the blue and orange following Coletti’s four seasons.
“I’m just excited to build a positive culture, and when we started in June over camp, the girls and captains had conversations about what we wanted to accomplish this year and moving forward and creating a positive culture amongst all the levels in our programs. And the girls getting to know each other and have those relationships and connections with everybody,” said Naperville North’s new girls basketball coach Aly Miller.
Aly Miller takes over
That culture has shown plenty of positive vibes in the past four years, with two regional titles and a trip to the sectional final for the first time since 2001. This year’s Huskies had to start from scratch with a first-time head coach, and needed to replace key players from a 20-win team: like Layla Henderson, Abby Drendel, Abby Homan, and Peyton Fenner.
“It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster, but it’s definitely been a fun journey so far. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned in moving forward is that I have to have a little bit more patience with myself and them and obviously to build something successful, it takes time. So that’s just kind of what we’re moving forward with,” said Miller.
Miller played prep basketball at Glenbard South before attending Illinois State University. Since joining the Huskie program following her graduation at ISU, Miller spent time as the JV team coach before taking over the varsity program this season. Despite not playing at the collegiate level, Miller knew coaching the game would be a part of her career journey, as basketball lives in her DNA.
“Basketball has always run in the family my dad was a head coach for a long time, my brother is the head coach at Downers Grove South. It’s something that I always saw myself doing. I’ve had a leadership role, myself playing on teams throughout high school. So I knew this is something I want to do with, you know, my future and my career,” said Miller.
Rollercoaster start for coach Miller
With just four players with previous varsity experience, Coach Miller and her team knew this season would be a learning process. The Huskies did start the season 3-0, while winning the Warhawk Tournament but there was a road bump along the way in the form of six straight losses. straight games. But following that rough patch, they won four of their last six games, including a big win over Neuqua Valley in the Montini Christmas tournament. Coming out of the holiday break, the team kept the ball rolling by picking up their first DVC conference win over Metea Valley.
Newcomers and veterans ready to step up
As for the players court, including returning starter Sydni Fink, they are excited to have Miller on their side and are ready to face the roller coaster of challenges.
“They have our backs all the way and I think their energy is just something that you can’t ask for more. They back us up every time on the court and have our backs, and they just connect with us. So whenever we have a problem, they’re always listening and help us turn it around,” said Naperville North Senior guard Sydni Fink.
“She is definitely experiencing a lot with us, but she’s done a great job of just coaching and bringing us up and just knowing, telling us what the game plan is going before the game. I think that she’s definitely translated and got a few tips from Cody. That’s definitely showing, and she’s just given a huge amount of energy to all of us in practice and on the court,” said North guard Natalie Frempong.
Now, with the calendar flipped to 2024, Coach Miller and the rest of the Huskies are ready to make some noise and get back to the program’s winning ways.
“Lately, we’ve been doing a great job of sharing the ball offensively. You know, we pride ourselves on our defense and the intensity that we play on that end of the floor and use that to kind of project our offensive events. So if we can keep doing those things, I think we’ll be all right,”
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