Sports
Meigs Minions
By: Clark Wooley, Steven Hernandez
Posted on:
When it comes to being one of the shortest basketball teams in the TVC-Ohio, the Meigs Lady Marauders are always at the center of discussion. In a sport where height and vertical ability matters—and in a conference with district powerhouses such as Vinton County and Nelsonville-York—it can be discouraging to walk onto the court as the smaller side.
However, instead of daunting at the fact they’re one of the shortest teams in the TVC, the Lady Marauder basketball team found a way to rally together, boost their confidence and most importantly, improve their game.
Enter the Meigs Minions.
Inspired by the popular yellow creatures seen in the Dreamworks movies, the “Minion” nickname gave the Lady Marauders a fun and interesting name to fall back on, allowing them to bond and develop a charismatic group ethic.
The name came about when first year coach Scott Cleland met with the whole Lady Marauders team for the first time during a summer game against Belpre. Due to the team’s lack of height, and the fact that the Minions movie was released the same week of the game, Cleland began to correlate the Minions to his new team. For Cleland, he believes that being a Minion is about “us[ing] what God gave you, not what you don’t have.”
The mentality of the newfound team transformed how the team feels in relation to each other. Danielle Morris points out that this year’s Lady Marauders team is one of the best groups she has been a part of.
“If one of us is going through a hard time, we’re there to pick each other up,” she adds, as the team makes sure that no one keeps their head down while on the court.
Haiden English, another prominent player for the Lady Marauders, also chimed in, simply summarizing that “the better you feel, the better you play.” It is no surprise then, that the Lady Marauders are always ecstatic while with each other. From decking out their locker rooms and basketball court with images of minions, to stuffed animals owned by teammates, the Meigs spirit could not be any higher.
But being a Minion is more than a name. For the girls, the term is a symbol for the way that they play on the court. On offense, Meigs kicks up the pace with fast breaks and several passes to move into the gut of the basket. The defensive side of the ball, however, is where the Lady Minions have made a name for themselves. The girls implement a man-to-man style of play, constantly swarming their opponents for steals and fast breaks.
Cleland admits that it did take some time for the minion chemistry to develop within the squad. It was not until a close loss to a top-ranked Vinton County team, however, that the Lady Marauders understood their potential.
“That’s when we knew…we could compete against anyone,” Cleland says.
Devin Humphreys, another Lady Minion, never really felt that small herself, but certainly feels attached to the minion mentality. Regardless of actual size, one can feel the air of being undersized.
“I feel like we’re the underdogs…everyone’s thinking ‘oh, we’re so small,’ but then we go out and beat the bigger teams,” Humphreys mentions.
The results of the minion mindset have also shown so far this season. Despite starting with a 1-6 skid, after the Vinton County matchup, the Lady Marauders followed up with a 7-3 run, bringing them just under .500. The Lady Marauders have also taken impressive strides within its conference, positing a 3-6 record within the TVC-Ohio—the same amount of wins that the team could muster for the last four seasons.
Through everything that the team has experience this season, from its slow start to its new confidence and strong game plan, Cleland also likes to connect the team’s resolve to the yellow characters. Just like the minions, the Lady Marauders “always find a solution to the problem, they always work together, they’re funny, they’re smart alecks, they work hard, they stick together, and [if] you mess with one, you mess with all of them.”
As the season rolls on, the Meigs Marauders might feel overpowered, outpaced and outsized. However the growing confidence of the Lady Marauders have let them prosper as a developing team within the TVC-Ohio. They may be small, but that is just their game. They are the Meigs Lady Marauders, and, most importantly, they are the Lady Minions.