WOODSTOCK — Jason Johnson wasn’t in a rush to name captains for this year’s installment of the Woodstock Union High School girls basketball team.
Natalie Stevens wasn’t a shoe-in despite being one of Woodstock’s three captains last season, so the junior had to earn her spot all over again. A few weeks later, another captain emerged: Jane Lackley, a 5-foot-10 freshman.
The two have been leading the Wasps ever since.
“Before our first game, I made Natalie captain,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s practice. “I waited about three weeks into the season, 2½ weeks into the season, because I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t assuming that she was going to get it, and I told (the players) at the beginning of the season, ‘There was no guarantees; no guarantee on starters, there’s no guarantee on captains.’ … ”
“With Jane, I waited,” Johnson added. “It wasn’t until we were probably three or four or five games into the season before I announced that she was captain, but she’s just very mature, very focused.
“If you see her in practice, she’s the one that speaks up the most, encouraging the kids to work harder, pay attention. (She) just kind of takes that leadership role naturally.”
Stevens was unsurprised that Johnson made the call on Lackley that he did.
“Even before (Lackley) was a captain, she was always very supportive and encouraging and there for everyone,” Stevens said. “I kind of saw it coming.”
The energetic freshman is also a skilled post player.
“(Lackley’s) a very good player,” Stevens said. “She works the paint very well and she knows how to drive to the basket, and she’s been a really great help this year. I feel like we needed a really good boost in the paint.”
Lackley, who leads the Wasps in scoring with 12.5 points per game, wasn’t expecting her role assignment.
“(The) first couple weeks of practice, Coach basically said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of putting another captain on the team, so just keep that in mind,’ ” Lackley said. “And in my head, I was like, ‘Oh, well, I know it’s not going to be me because I’m just a freshman.’ But I went out and I practiced hard and I was encouraging everyonem and then a couple of weeks in, Coach comes up to me and he’s like, ‘Jane, I was thinking of making you a captain. Are you cool with that?’
“So I didn’t really think it would happen. I wasn’t really trying to go after the position, but I’m happy that I am captain. I’m really enjoying it.”
Lackley, who enjoys shooting hoops inside her family’s barn, was asked if she prefers playing against teams that feature formidable centers.
“I like playing against (players of various heights) because if you have another post player, I get to use some of my moves and maybe take more outside shots, because maybe they’re not expecting me to do that,” she said. “But also, on the smaller players, you can just kind of take it to ’em and you get to dominate a little bit, which is also fun.
“But you also get to improve a little bit more when you’re matched with someone closer to my size, so I think there’s advantages to both.”
Lackley is one of five freshmen on Woodstock’s roster.
Each one of the newcomers has made important contributions, according to the eldest captain.
“They’ve been a really great help,” Stevens said. “They’ve all put in their effort, and that’s got to be hard going from middle school to varsity. But they’ve really put in all their work, and it’s been a really good addition to the team. … We’re just really working together.”
Emma Tarleton is the Wasps’ second-leading scorer with 10 points per game.
Her cousins, Lara Tarleton and Megan Tarleton, are fellow freshmen on the Woodstock roster.
The Wasps, who are also made up of four sophomores, two juniors (and no seniors), improved to 6-9 with Thursday’s 40-28 win over Twin Valley after winning just a single contest last season.
“I think the whole team dynamic has shifted a lot,” said Stevens, who is temporarily out with a knee injury. “I feel like, last year, it was like we were stuck in this pattern and we had a new coach, and that was hard to adapt to.”
Johnson reflected briefly on his first campaign leading the Wasps.
“When I came into the program last year, it was pretty run down,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of culture. I had four seniors on the team, and I was their fourth coach.
“Every year, they were learning something new and they hadn’t had a really successful program in quite awhile.”
Johnson’s staff includes two former Upper Valley players: His daughter, Lexi Johnson, who played at Hartford High; and Lacey Stever of Rivendell Academy and Castleton State College.