Warlassies change course in 2023
Owen looks to overcome 0-3 start under new head coach
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 30, 2023
The Owen Warlassies are attempting to get back on track, following an 0-3 start to the 2023 season. The team, led by longtime Warren Wilson College coach and first-year Owen head coach Robin Martin, fell to Thomas Jefferson in its home opener. Photo by Fred McCormick
A new head coach and young Warlassies roster are working to get back on track, following an 0-3 start to the 2023 basketball season.
Owen, which fell, 72-37, to Thomas Jefferson in its home opener, Nov. 28, will rely on athleticism while focusing on skill development and a fundamentally sound approach to the game.
Former head coach Chasity Simpson, an assistant with the program for six seasons when she accepted the position in 2020, stepped away this fall, citing personal reasons. Her successor, Robin Martin, who has coached Warren Wilson College since 2014 and served as the school’s athletic director for nearly two years, filled the vacancy in October.
“I’m doing what would normally be viewed as summer prep now,” Martin said. “That would typically be the time you hone in on some of the skills we’re working on, so we’re really trying to do stuff we would normally do in the offseason, in the regular season.”
Four seniors — Ellie Martin, Hayden Koone, Violet Conner and Tinley Clark — will need to work quickly to develop chemistry with their teammates. The remainder of the young roster, including freshman Mia Roland, sophomore Elly Wright and junior Charlize Smithey, has embraced the challenge.
Owen freshman Mia Roland brings athleticism from the volleyball court to the basketball court, as the Warlassies look to get on track after an 0-3 start to the 2023 season. Photo by Fred McCormick
“We switched our defensive style before the season, in an effort to slow other teams down,” Martin said of Owen’s 1-3-1 base set. “It’s a defense that not every team will be prepared to face, and we have some good length, so we think that can disrupt opponents, especially in the first half.”
Active defenders and an athletic cast of Warlassies will apply pressure that leads to scoring opportunities in transition, according to the coach.
“Scoring the basketball will be something we’ll have to improve all year, because we don’t have enough consistency from the field yet,” Martin said. “We’re still working to develop those reliable jump shooters who will help us with that.”
Only three Owen players, Ellie Martin, Koone and Wright, have significant experience at the varsity level, and the trio will be expected to shoulder much of the load.
“Hayden is a solid scorer, and Elly (Wright) has good experience playing varsity,” the coach said. “My daughter, Ellie Martin, has also played at this level, and between those three players, that’s the bulk of our experience. The rest have hardly played, so we’re seeing a lot of girls being thrown into a varsity environment and still adjusting to it.”
Roland, who is coming off of a strong volleyball campaign, is already proving herself to be a legitimate offensive option for the Warlassies.
Owen sophomore Elly Wright is one of three players on the 2023 roster with previous varsity basketball experience. Photo by Fred McCormick
“Mia is a late addition, and we think of her and Tinley Clark as a big help,” Martin said. “Mia will pick everything up quickly, and her improvement between the first and last games will be very noticeable.”
While the Warlassies find their footing on the court, the new head coach will be tasked with balancing her duties on the Warren Wilson and Owen sidelines. Scheduling conflicts prevented her from attending Owen’s first two games.
“There will be games I can’t attend, because it was too late to adjust Warren Wilson’s schedule when I stepped in,” she said. “After watching them on Tuesday, we talked about working on our dribbling and not playing hot potato with the ball. We can square up, look at the basket and take smarter shots. Those are things we can control and things we work on everyday.”
Martin will share in-game duties with assistant coach Jeffrey Woodside, the current head coach of the Warren Wilson men’s lacrosse program.
“Woody has some experience coaching basketball at the youth level,” Martin said. “When I was considering applying for this job at Owen, I walked into his office and told him to talk me off the ledge. He said, ‘if you apply, I’ll help.’ So, he’s been a tremendous support so far.”
The Warlassies will attempt to pick up their first victory of the campaign at 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1, when they host R-S Central.
“We have pieces to build around, and we have a foundation that we have to build out,” Martin said.
Owen’s success, she added, will be measured by the growth of the players.
“I’m already starting to see it, and we will definitely look a lot better by January,” the coach said. “I would love for people to recognize individual improvement in each of these players. Of course, we want to be competitive, but by the end of the season I want people to look at these girls and say, ‘wow, they have really come a long way.’”