The jump between freshman and sophomore year for varsity prep athletes is usually a pretty significant one.
No matter the sport or gender, typically most high school athletes who see varsity playing time as freshmen enter their sophomore seasons with more confidence and skill because of the experience they’ve already received.
That in mind, not many people could have predicted the leap Fond du Lac’s Ally Gietzel would take this season.
As a freshman, Gietzel averaged a respectable 8.6 points per game for the Fond du Lac girls basketball team — obviously a good start.
Then, as a sophomore this year, Gietzel rocketed from a respectable player in the Fox Valley Association to one of, if not the best player in the league. In helping guide the Cardinals to their first winning season since 2012-13, Gietzel earned FVA Co-Player of the Year honors.
She’ll have another title to add to her incredible sophomore campaign — 2015-16 Action Reporter Media All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Gietzel edged out Laconia’s Caitlyn Tipton and Waupun’s Maiah Domask to garner the honor. Gietzel is joined on the all-area first team by Tipton, Domask, St. Mary’s Springs’ Anja Smith and Waupun’s Danielle Hopp.
This season, Gietzel averaged an FVA-high 17.7 points per game in developing into an all-around offensive threat nearly impossible to guard in man-to-man situations. With deadly touch from the outside and lightning-quick burst to the hoop, Gietzel could do anything on the court.
And not just as an offensive playmaker, as Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell made sure to point out.
“She’s a player that’s going to do it on both ends of the floor,” Bell said. “Defensively, she gets blocks. She hustles after rebounds. Especially when we’re in the zone, it’s tough to get it over her.
“Offensively, I feel there’s not really many people that can guard her, just one person. She can get to the rim at will. A lot of teams had to face guard her and she still was able to average almost 18 points a game with that happening. That says a lot about her offensive ability. She was fourth in the Division 1 for 3-point shooting (percentage). It’s all-around. She’s going to do it on both sides of the court and not really need a break.”
There was no magic formula to Gietzel’s rapid progression from freshman to sophomore year. As a freshman starter, obviously she had the talent to become a top performer in the area. But that doesn’t happen overnight.
Gietzel put in hours upon hours of work in the gym over the offseason, whether it was simply shooting around for an afternoon or playing with her AAU team — the Wisconsin Flight Elite, based in Oshkosh.
“I think I put in a lot of work, especially outside of practice this year,” Gietzel said. “I was a lot more confident. I just improved all-around.”
There was no argument from Bell.
“She’s proof of hard work,” he said. “A lot of times it’s easy to look at successful players and say ‘Well they were born with this talent. It’s easy for them.’ But it never gets easier, you just get better. She’s a good example. She probably puts in the most time of any player that I’ve been around.”
For her play during the season, Gietzel credited Bell and assistant coach Joanie Hammer.
“They really had us prepared to play every game and created a team environment,” she said.
Although Gietzel certainly wasn’t the only playmaker on a Fond du Lac squad that finished tied for fourth place in the FVA and ended up 12-11 overall, there’s no denying how much she meant to the team. Many nights, the Cardinals went as Gietzel went.
But Bell didn’t even think that was her biggest contribution to the team. In that sense, he thought Gietzel’s leadership abilities influenced the rest of the squad to work harder.
“She’s not vocal, but she’s a leader,” Bell said. “She’s always doing the right things. Always competing in drills, always in the right position, always doing the right things. She’s that leader people can look to and they know that she’s going to bring it every practice, every game. She’s not going to slack off.”
After a disappointing season for the team last year, Gietzel was excited about how much the Cardinals improved as a unit in 2015-16.
“As a team, we made huge improvements over last year,” she said. “Tied for fourth in the conference and last year we just won four games (in conference). We played together this year and everyone knew their roles on the team. We were a lot closer, too, so that helped.”
Fortunately for Bell and a Cardinals program that appears to be on the rise, they get Gietzel for another two years. Having stepped into the team’s primary scoring role as only a sophomore, Gietzel showed how high of a ceiling she has as a player.
While that does mean opponents will look to shut her down in the future, it’s a good problem to have. With Gietzel’s dedication to the sport, Bell has no doubt she’ll continue to grow and improve. She won’t be resting on her laurels despite her individual success.
“She’s dedicated to (basketball) and it’s her passion,” Bell said. “Passion leads to success. She puts her all into it and it’s a great thing to have on a team. She’s a great asset to Fond du Lac basketball.”
2015-16 Action Reporter Media All-Area Girls Basketball Team
First team
Maiah Domask, Junior, Waupun
Ally Gietzel, Soph., Fond du Lac
Danielle Hopp, Junior, Waupun
Anja Smith, Junior, St. Mary’s Springs
Caitlyn Tipton, Junior, Laconia
Second team
Tiffani Anderson, Senior, Campbellsport
Kelsey Birschbach, Senior, Laconia
Sydney Flier, Soph., Waupun
Mattie Klingenmeyer, Senior, Mayville
Aleah Wendels, Junior, Fond du Lac