Southside High School will be holding its freshman girls’ basketball tryouts in the Southside area gym on April 24th, 2023 from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Twenty to Twenty-three girls are estimated to tryout from various schools around Fort Smith such as Chaffin Middle School, Ramsey Middle School, and Trinity Middle School.

Athletes are required to fill out the form available through the QR code on the tryout information sheet, and have a current physical in order to tryout.

When asked how many girls he believes the team will consist of, Southside’s freshman girls’ basketball head coach Dee Candeleria said, “We don’t go into it with a set number. We go into it with an idea of 15 to 18 ideally. We are not going to keep someone for numbers purposes.” 

Only five players are allowed from each team to be on the court during a game.

“Good attitudes, hard workers, hustling, and even if you don’t know what you are doing, you’re still working hard and trying as hard as you can,” Chaffin’s 8th grade girls’ basketball head coach Blake Branham stated when asked what coaches are looking for in the athletes at tryouts.

Athletes must maintain a GPA of at least 2.0, and be passing all of their core classes in order to participate in any athletic activities.

Many of the athletes including 8th grade Chaffin student and basketball player Layla Brewer are “nervous because there are more girls coming that we do not know, such as Trinity girls.” They are also all excited to move to the next level in their basketball careers.

Most of the Chaffin and Ramsey girls know each other, but not many girls know the athletes from Trinity due to the recent conference change and different training times.

Brewer also stated, “I’m looking forward to winning a lot of games because Ramsey plus Chaffin will dominate. I am excited for games.” 

This year’s basketball season will begin in November.