Arlee Scarlets come into 2024 with optimism

Arlee is going into the 2024 season with a lot of optimism as head coach Ross Coleman continues to see growth from his Scarlets.

“I am very happy and impressed with my girls last season,” Coleman said. “They showed me how strong and prideful they truly are to be Scarlets.”

Coleman said in every game last year, his team showed they can overcome adversity and did it with a smile on their faces.

“I had a ton of fun learning more about the girls, their character, and as people outside of the classroom and court,” said Coleman, who took over the team last year. “I felt very accepted from the beginning of the season and am very excited to continue working and building this program.”

His expectation this season is continued growth within the girls' program at Arlee.

“The girls are working hard day in and day out on improving their fundamentals, basketball knowledge, and understanding their role on the team,” Coleman said. “They were all very eager to attend open gyms before the season started and have also shown great initiative on the court. We hope this hard work begins to translate in the ‘W’ column.”

Coleman said the team’s strength will be its ability to overcome difficult situations and turn them into positives.

“We have been put into many difficult situations last year and already at the beginning of this year – injuries, small number of players – and will continue to overcome,” Coleman said.

The Scarlets return senior Leah Mesteth, who will be a crucial part of the team this year as she knows the offense, defense, and team expectations and goals.

“She has already proven that she wants the program to flourish and leads the girls on the court to learn and be better players every day,” Coleman said.

Freshman Kaylee Tanner will return after playing as an eighth grader last year.

“She was a little shy last year being an 8th grader on the varsity floor,” Coleman said. “However, she has come out guns a blazing this year, ready to prove she is a force on the court.”

Quite a few new freshmen this year have decided to come out and play.

“I am very excited for my new freshman as they have much potential and are excited to put the work in to have a successful program,” Coleman said. “They seem to have bought into the desire to be better, work hard, and listen at every practice.”

While Arlee is focusing on improving itself this year, they will be playing in a league without a Deer Lodge program as that school had to cancel this year.

“I love playing with their program and hope they can reestablish it in the years to come,” Coleman said. “We are excited to play this year and show our improvement from last year.”

Arlee has returning girls ready to step into key roles of players who were lost last year and prove their spot on the court.

“The majority of my lineup are returning players with a handful of new girls that have come in ready to play,” Coleman said. “This is a great group of girls, and I look forward to a fun year of basketball.”