PHILIPSBURG — The time to take on a big, new adventure in life is almost never exactly right, but sometimes it’s best to put the worries aside and just go for it.
That’s what new Philipsburg-Osceola head girls’ basketball coach Alexis Bacher did.
Bacher — then Cartwright — grew up in Philipsburg and played for the Mounties. It was a sport, she thought after she graduated, that someday she would like to coach.
That opportunity arose when long-time P-O head coach Doug Myers resigned after the 2015-16 season, and some of the P-O girls Bacher knew from coaching in area youth leagues contacted her.
They asked her to take over the Mounties’ program.
But now Bacher had a husband and young children and a job. Varsity basketball is a year-round commitment and extremely time consuming once a season starts. There are daily practices, long bus rides, late nights and games on weekdays and weekends. And, somewhat ironically, the better a team plays, the longer the season lasts.
“I grew up here in Philipsburg,” she said, “and I’m really excited. But there was a whole bunch of seeing if everybody in my family was on board with this. They all knew that this was always something I really wanted to do, to come back and coach, especially now that these girls are at a varsity level.
“The interviews were nerve-wracking, but I got through it, and then they called me that same day and offered me the job.”
Fast forward to Nov. 18, and Bacher, her schedules arranged and other responsibilities in order, walked out to her first practice as the P-O coach.
That, of course, is not the end of the story, but just the beginning.
She takes over a program that had its problems in 2015-16 — P-O was 3-16 — but that also lost more than a few close games. Among those were two, two-point losses to Bellefonte, a double-overtime loss to Juniata and two four-point losses to Clearfield. Even Penns Valley, one of the better District 6 teams last season, was not able to beat the Mounties by more than nine points.
Yet gone from that team is Haylee Hayward, the team’s scoring leader and floor general. Seniors Cheyenne Bone and Cheyanne Cowfer, both two-year starters and big contributors, also graduated.
Fortunately, there are experienced players coming back. The Mounties have a solid group of five returning players in Halle Herrington, Lauren Hughes, Lacy Potter, Cassidy Hughes and Megan Winters.
Herrington, a quick sophomore guard, took over the point-guard position last season and will be a major factor in running this year’s offense. She is an excellent ball handler, knowledgeable, and has a very good shot.
But she will be at point for a team that, when all is said and done, is very inexperienced and will have to make up for a lack of size.
“They (the five returners) will probably be the players I most depend on,” Bacher said.
“We don’t have a lot of height. Our tallest girls is maybe 5-foot-7, but we are very quick and good at defense.”
Bacher and her team will not have much transition time before some tough teams come calling. The schedule opens with two home games against West Branch (Monday, Dec. 12) and Tyrone (Wednesday, Dec. 14).
After that, five of the next six games are on the road against BEA, Bellefonte and Juniata, and at the West Branch holiday tournament. The lone home game in that stretch will be against Penns Valley on Monday, Dec. 19.
Still, Bacher is cautiously optimistic about her first team and its chances of success.
“They (the players) like to learn,” she said, “so I think that benefits everybody. We are optimistic and if we can put it all together and work as a team, I have a really good feeling about this year.
“Part of me is wondering if this is real life, but I’m really excited and I know it was an opportunity that I had to jump on, especially since the girls asked me.”
