Hamilton, ON- When Maya Weekes first joined the McMaster Marauders women’s basketball team last summer, she felt the culture firsthand.
She heard about it from the coaches and alumni. She saw how everyone helped everyone. How everyone was there for everyone. The first year guard felt all that energy and positivity. She felt part of something bigger than herself.
In that environment as time went on, Weekes felt more comfortable making mistakes and trying things she wouldn’t before. Teammates and coaches would correct her but she knew she wouldn’t get yelled at or get in trouble.
Several months later, she still feels the support as her first season is coming to a close. The Vaughan native has learned so much over those months.
Weekes and her fellow rookies were learning in game action as the Marauders defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves in back-to-back home games to end the regular season. It was Weekes’ first regular season game action at home in the Burridge Gym.
McMaster went deep into their bench – a way to keep legs fresh and the pace high, according to Marauders head coach Theresa Burns. They’re a young team with seven rookies still gaining experience and learning.
For Weekes and fellow rookie Teja McCormick, that meant important minutes. It also contributes to their team culture.
“Everybody gets to be part of it,” Burns noted. “Everybody feels like they’re contributing something.”
You can see the growth from Weekes on the court against Lakehead. She played five minutes in the first game and nine in the second.
She tried to pay attention to all those details Burns and the other coaches have been telling her about. Loading in the paint. Helping. Rebounding. Boxing out.
The experience has been a transition from high school – so different. It’s been a really good learning one though, she pointed out.
Her coaches and teammates have helped her out. She’s also watched them, taking cues from what they’re doing. She’ll follow the seniors – in particular fellow guards Jenna Button and Deanna Mataseje. They’ll give her feedback on what to do, passing on those details just like the coaches do.
After hearing all that, Weekes started working at it. She started boxing out in practice – something she wouldn’t have done in the beginning of the season. She’s now doing so in games.
Weekes knows how difficult it is given how strong the players are. So, she worked at getting stronger. Being a smaller guard, she knew to use her body to get into better position to box out.
She grabbed her first career rebound on Friday. Even if she can’t get the board…she makes sure that teammates can get it by boxing out her player.
She can see those small improvements over time. “I think I’ve definitely improved from the beginning of the season,” she noted.
When McCormick would step onto the court at the beginning of the season, she would start overthinking.
The Toronto forward would then take a deep breath and reflect. My teammates are there to support me, she told herself. They want me to get better.
That brought calmness. With more practice and game experience, things became more and more normal. She started to understand more and more her role and what she’s supposed to do. That kept her calm as well. She became more composed.
Likes Weekes, McCormick is focused on learning and absorbing as much as she can, including from her fellow forwards. When she stepped on the court against Lakehead – playing six minutes in each game – she tried to give all her energy and effort. She was running at the breakneck pace as McMaster kept pushing the ball in transition in both games.
She also felt the culture early on. After her first few practices, she thought to herself: This is going to be pretty awesome. It’s a feeling that grew over time.
McCormick came in with high standards for herself. Then she got to know her teammates better and better. She saw how open the veterans were with the rookies. How comfortable she was to approach them and talk with them. How they were really a family.
The seniors would tell her about their own first year experiences – how stressed they were back then. McCormick felt comfortable talking to them about anything stressing her.
“Everyone genuinely wants everyone to do well, get better and be themselves,” she noted. “I think that’s really important to like having us succeed too.”
Burns knows how important those minutes are for McCormick and Weekes. She sees how much they’re learning and how hard they’re working in practice. So, for them to get that taste of game action…
The head coach saw them conduct themselves really well and put in some good shifts.
She talks to them about the culture of respect. “Bring your best every day,” she’ll tell them. As the players have done so, the head coaches sees them buying in. Look at how genuinely happy they are when someone does something good on the court.
Imagine how loud the cheers were when the rookies scored their first points. When McCormick scored her first regular season points in their season opener against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Nov. 4. This is pretty awesome, she thought.
When Weekes hit a shot against the Algoma Thunderbirds on Feb. 4 for her first career basket. Rookie teammate Ashley Guerriero passed her the ball and she nailed the shot.
Everyone went crazy on the bench. Weekes heard her teammates cheering.
She felt really happy and included when the shot went in. “It’s really nice – and it makes you want to score more points,” she noted.
The rookies – all seven of them – are going through this experience together. They were all thrown into the university experience together, according to McCormick. They all looked to their older teammates for support. They all learned together.
McCormick also found it helpful to have her fellow rookies to lean on moments when she’s feeling stressed. She knows they’re going through the same experience at the same time.
Different teammates have been there for her at different times – depending on what she needs. They’re getting to know each other better and better. “It’s really helping us all bond so that by our later years, we’ll be like a really tight knit group too,” she added.
Weekes thinks about what the team needs from her. When she’s on the bench, she’ll cheer her teammates on. When she’s on the court, she’s trying to make an impact as well – getting more rebounds and steals for instance.
What can I do to help my teammates get better, she asks herself? What can I do to facilitate things? What can I do for myself?
That can mean so many things for Weekes. Cheering. Scoring. Rebounding. Defending. Boxing out. Learning. When she does so, she’ll hear the cheers and feel the support along the way.
Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics