Despite Their Youth, Smetana and Blosnick Making Their Mark on the Hopewell Girls Varsity Basketball Team

Making the huge adjustment of being a junior high student to a freshman in high school is enormous.

Going to a bigger school, learning your way around, fitting in with the older kids, etc. are all real-life challenges and that all 9th graders go through.

Imagine all of that and then adding working to try and earn minutes as a member of the varsity basketball team.

That’s a lot for a 15-year-old but that’s what Hopewell 9th graders Addison Blosnick and Cici Smetana are working to accomplish.

Credit to them because through skill and hard work, they’ve both earned playing time and valuable minutes for Coach Homziak and the Lady Vikings team. Blosnick is one of the first members off the bench while Smetana has carved a spot in the starting lineup.

Everyone should remember that it’s not normal for 9th graders to start and get considerable minutes so this is a huge accomplishment for these two young ladies.

This morning, Hopewell Sports Nation had the chance to talk with both Cici and Addison about the challenges and excitement to the start of their first varsity basketball season.

“The start to the season has been good,” said Blosnick. “The biggest thing that I’ve noticed is that you need to give a lot more effort in varsity compared to junior high. Also, the pace of practice and games is a lot faster.”

“It’s been very exciting, and I agree, the pace of everything is just so much faster. We have such great leaders on our team, so it’s been very fun,” said Smetana.

Between the amount and difficulty of practices, to the level of competition, and the overall expectations, playing junior high versus varsity sports is a ton different as Blosnick and Smetana explain.

“The pace of everything has been very different,” said Smetana. “But we conditioned a lot before the season so that has helped out. The game has just been a lot faster.”

“Yeah, everything is just so much faster. Plus, going up against much experienced players has been different,” said Blosnick. “Practices have taken time to get used to but they’re getting easier but of the condition that we’re in.”

Both those girls have been full-time starters at the junior high level and two of the better players on the team.

But that was junior high where they competed against girls their own age. Now, they’re trying to succeed against not only other 9th graders but also sophomores, juniors and seniors. Obviously, that’s a lot different so I wondered what their expectations were heading into the start of the season.

“I came into the season not expecting to play much and definitely didn’t expect to start,” said Smetana. “I just wanted to work hard and do the best that I can. So, I’m very fortunate and appreciative of what’s happened so far.”

“I hoped to get playing time, but I really didn’t know how much considering we were just freshman,” said Blosnick.

For Cici, it’s been a lot different as she’s started the last 3 games which is way more than she expected.

“When I got that first start, it was so nerve wracking,” said Smetana. “I was just so excited and grateful for the opportunity that Coach gave me to start as a freshman because not a lot of kids get that.”

“I’ve been very excited and just want to take advantage of the opportunity. I’m just going to continue to work hard and do the best that I can and do whatever I can to help out the team.”

In terms of their strengths, Blosnick is a tall guard/forward with the ability to score from both in the paint and from outside. A big advantage for her is her length and ability to drive to the hoop using that size. Most times, she’s going to have that advantage. She tells me that working on her outside game is something she’s working hard on.

Smetana is playing the 3 position: with her strength definitely being her shooting ability. Right now, both are trying to balance learning their place in the offense but also learning to be more aggressive when the opportunity presents itself.

“At first, I was just concentrating on running the plays, fitting in with the offense and doing my job. As we’re playing more, I’m starting to get more comfortable and looking for my shot a little bit more,” said Smetana.

“I feel like I was hesitant at first because you’re coming into a new team and you don’t know what to expect,” said Blosnick. “But everyone has been very welcoming and it’s not like you’re separated by grade or anything. At first, I feel like I was so worried about messing up but it’s starting to feel more natural and I’m getting comfortable.”

Considering the young talent on this team, with Smetana, Blosnick, Hannah McDowell, Harley Hample, Avery Boyd, Maya Richburg and the talent in the 7th and 8th grade programs, the future of Hopewell Girls basketball is certainly exciting.

However, the best thing for Cici and Addison is that they’re getting the opportunity to experience all of this together, considering their close friendship.

“It’s definitely a great experience to do be able to do this together and hopefully both grow and succeed together. It definitely helps ease our nerves knowing that we’re with each other and have each other,” said Smetana.

“It definitely helps in terms of support,” said Blosnick. “Obviously our teammates give us support but it really helps to have someone that you’re close to and have played together with for so many years.”

Thanks to both Addison and Cici for taking the time to talk this morning and best of luck the rest of the season.

The Hopewell Girls basketball team will play at home next Friday when they host Lincoln Park with tipoff set for 7:30 PM.