By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

For the second consecutive basketball season, Waterloo High School will be without a varsity girls basketball team.

The program was initially suspended in September 2023 in a difficult decision made by athletic director Mike Devies, citing low participation numbers.

Last September, Devies announced that the suspension would stretch over two years so the fact that the Vikings are absent from the girls basketball landscape for 2024-2025 does not stray from the initial timeline set by the district.

A varsity team is still scheduled to be revived for the 2025-2026 season.

For 2024-25, Waterloo will run a full JV schedule, with Nicole Lewis serving as the head coach. Lewis has overseen the youth and high-school programs since 2023.

“Nicole has done a great job building the fundamentals of the girls who were on the team last year,” Devies said. “We are excited because there has been a lot of interest in returning to basketball from girls who played in the past.

“I think the program is going to take a huge leap forward this season,” Devies added. “We will be a little deeper and a little more versatile in all five positions. I am excited to see if the program can develop as much this year as it did last year.”

Part of what has allowed the program to continue to make steps forward, despite being in a state of rebuild, is that Devies, Lewis and the entire district has continued to treat the program the same as if it had never gone away.

“There are expectations set for the girls who play and coach Lewis has done a great job instilling discipline into her program,” Devies said.

Last year, the Waterloo JV girls basketball team played eight games and had seven players.

This year, the JV team is expected to play a 16- or 18-game schedule and the roster, which is still in flux, is expected to grow to between 10 to 14 players.