Camarillo girls' basketball team under the direction of a new leader
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SEASON UNDERWAY-Above, Camarillo's Anne Yoshimura brings the ball up the floor during a game Wednesday at the Moorpark High Tip-Off Classic. Left, Stacie Whitley surveys the court.

Lori Pristera recently moved to Camarillo from a home located a couple miles away from Disney World in Orlando, Fla. She's now hoping that Camarillo High's basketball court can soon become the happiest place on earth.

After Camarillo finished last season 12-15, Pristera was brought in to coach the Scorpions. Pristera begins her tenure at ACHS after coaching for many years in Florida at the high school and middle school levels.

"I'm happy to be here in Camarillo," Pristera said. "I love everything here. I love teaching here and I love that my kids go here."

Pristera is hoping to enjoy winning in Camarillo as well. The team begins its season this week at Moorpark High School in the Tip-Off Classic Tournament.

The team is bringing back five seniors, including fourthyear varsity returnee Stacy Whitley. The other seniors are Heather Morris, Krista Kurosaki, Melissa Cano and Laura Baker.

"So far this season, I've been impressed with the team," Pristera said.

"I have very high expectations for them. I respect every single one of the players, and they seem to be gelling together as a team now. Many players left last year and have come back with a kind of renewed spirit. And the seniors want to go out and play hard in their last year and play with a lot of dignity," she said.

Many of the players have noticed that a different attitude followed the coaching change. Although the team is now working harder, they seem to like the new direction they're headed in.

"We used to screw around and sing and stuff, and if we do that, this year we have to run 'walls'," Cano said. "I think our coach is stricter this year on us, but that has made us more focused."

Kurosaki agreed.

"I like (Pristera) because she is very personal with us," Kurosaki said. "It seems she likes to get to know us as a person."

According to Whitley, who is a co-captain with Morris, the team is much smaller in stature this year than in her previous three seasons.

Whitley believes once the team adjusts to playing with one another, the 2006-07 Scorpions will be quicker on the court.

"We had our first scrimmage and our communication was a problem," Whitley said. "On defense nobody knew who to guard. That has been getting a lot better in practice this week."

Whitley says she's very excited about the new season, her last with Camarillo and her first with Pristera.

"I like her a lot as a coach," Whitley said. "She laid down the law the first week of practice. She really knows what she is doing. I also like her because she seems to have more of an understanding with me; she gets me. The other coach and I wouldn't understand each other, and it would show on the court.

"Now in my fourth year I'm very comfortable, especially with my shooting. I think I have a lot of experience now, and I have a lot of experience playing with my teammates," Whitley said.

Pristera likes what she's seen in early practices. According to the coach, ACHS has worked hard over the offseason by running two miles a day for the past six weeks, which has translated into the team losing 100 pounds collectively. She thinks the tournament this week at Moorpark will be a good chance to get a look at what's ahead.

"In practice they do very well," Pristera said. "But in the scrimmage, we seemed to go back to old habits. This tournament will be a good chance to see what they're made of as a team. I'm looking forward to being a running team and one that has a lot of quickness."

Pristera not only likes the play of the seniors in practice, but has also liked the play of juniors Sophia Sander and Desiree Fink.

"I like that Sophia has become really tough," Pristera said. "Not that she was a wuss before, but now she really plays hard.

"Desiree also has amazing stuff. She is an incredible ball handler, and I'm looking for her to do great things this year."

Last season Camarillo ended on a down note by losing its last four games including its only playoff game to Redondo, 38-25. This season the Scorpions are hoping to go further in the playoffs.

"We're prepared," Cano said. "We're ready. We've been waiting a while for our senior year and we want to go out on top."

Camarillo plays today and tomorrow at Moorpark High School in the Tip-Off Classic.