Rogala runs the court
Coach Rogala sits court side during a sophomore basketball game.
Judging the time on the clock, Coach Allison Rogala, has high hopes her team is going to defeat their rivals, L.T. She checks the time once more and reverts her gaze back to her team. Before she even hears the buzzer, her ears are filled by screams from the bleachers. Her face immediately reacts with a smile as she checks the scoreboard and the loud blare confirms her success: they have won.
Rogala, a basketball coach of six years, has a style which is atypical from that of a cliché coach. On an average school day, her blonde hair is neatly done, followed by a thoughtfully styled outfit. Her tall height however, makes the position of a basketball coach seem obviously fitting.
In 2013, Allison Rogala began her first year of coaching with the girl’s freshman basketball team at Hinsdale Central as a volunteer coach. Out of the six years she has been coaching, four were spent as head coach of the freshman girls basketball team, with this year being her first as the head girl’s sophomore coach.
At Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, Rogala played for her high school team and found the sport suited her well because of her competitive nature.
Rogala had become interested in basketball at a young age, partially influenced by her dad’s love for the game. She deemed it the most logical sport to play at the time because she had sisters she could play with. Once she began, she instantly felt enamored with the fast paced nature of the game and being part of a team.
Each year at Central, Rogala said she loves being surrounded by the team atmosphere and getting to build relationships with different teams and players.
“I’ve been with my current team for two years now, and I’ve never had that before. It’s really cool to see them grow and to be able to keep building relationships with them,” Rogala said.
And while she has been with her current team for two years, every team is different. She has had to use different coaching skills with every team depending on a number of factors including how hard they work, how sensitive they are, and what skills they have that would work best for different plays.
Overall, her main priority while coaching is to adjust to make the players feel like they are in a good place to succeed.
“She is determined to make her players better, while she may be a little tough, it is all to make the team better,” said Masa Abbound, sophomore girls basketball player.
As a coach, Rogala tries to encourage her team to be good team-mates to each other and respectful to the other teams that they play.
“If you don’t get along it shows on the court, no one can win by themselves. Having good character and sportsmanship is a huge part of being a good member on the team. It’s something I try to remind them of,” Rogala said.
Practice for the team in the Field House is either held before or after school. It’s usually two hours but the time sometimes fluctuates. During practice, Rogala uses drills to help the teams performance.
“We did an activity where every time the team missed a shot or messed up, we would have to run, and throughout this exercise it helped make the team better as a whole,” Abbound said.
Sophomore basketball games lead up to conference. Being her first time coaching the sophomores, Rogala is navigating helping her team to be successful and working towards winning games at conference.
