Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're watching the Prep Rally podcast.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Sydney, where are you?
[00:00:14] Speaker C: I'm here. Hi, Graham.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: What are you doing up there?
[00:00:17] Speaker C: I wanted to know what it felt like to be Rapunzel. So I'm up here on this gorgeous balcony.
They don't pass you by and they never give you credit. It's enough to drive them crazy if you let them.
Isn't it wonderful that we're here?
All right, let's get this thing started.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Let's do this.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: Look at this gym. Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think?
Our show is complete.
And look at here. I'm the girl, the girl with this old guy.
Hello, Prep Rally fans. We're here in Bulldog Arena. I'm your host, Sydney Ruth Mulvanete, here with Graham Thomas of Northwest Arkansas. We have some special guests today. Two players from our girls basketball team, Adriana Hernandez and Kaia McCoy. How are you guys doing?
[00:01:39] Speaker D: Very good, thank you.
[00:01:40] Speaker E: I'm good, thank you.
[00:01:41] Speaker C: Well, we're so glad that you guys are on our show today. And next week is the state tournament. How do you guys feel that that's happening on your home turf?
[00:01:49] Speaker D: We're really excited. It's like our second time here in state, and to be as a senior for it to be on our home court, I just feel really, like, anxious to do it in front of our fans. But we've done this for the whole season, so we're really ready for it.
[00:02:07] Speaker E: I think it's a really big experiment. I mean, experience. Sorry. We've been preparing like, crazy, crazy, and I think the work will show. And also this is our second year, so I think we'll be more prepared because of how quick we got out last year, but I think we'll be ready.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: Now, you guys have been through the whole state tournament experience before where you're traveling to another part of the state, staying in a hotel, you know, hopefully multiple nights in a hotel, and, you know, playing and. And all that. But playing in a state tournament on your home floor, that. That has got to be very, very exciting.
[00:02:41] Speaker E: Yeah, it's really crazy. And I know, like, I'll be like, the whole week, I'll just be like, wow, because it's going to be just so packed. And I've never really experienced anything like this before.
[00:02:50] Speaker D: Yeah, that's really what we're work. What we worked for all season, like, just being in packed gyms, and our practices are very, like, energized, energetic, and we just. We're ready to play on our home court again.
[00:03:06] Speaker C: And now is there Is there a game that this past season that has kind of prepared you guys for this? Is there, is there a game you can think of?
[00:03:14] Speaker D: Harbor?
[00:03:15] Speaker E: Yeah, it'll probably be that packed.
[00:03:18] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: Now you mentioned the harbor game, so I wasn't able to attend that game. But I've seen photos and this place looked like it might have been packed. I mean, there might not have been an empty seat here in the house. So tell me about that kind of environment though. I know you are going to try and recreate that atmosphere.
[00:03:36] Speaker E: Yeah, it's crazy because, you know, the girls hardly ever get really a student section. So for the Harvard game we had a like full student section. So it was a nice thing to kind of, you know, like have.
But yeah, it was a really cool experience. Experience.
[00:03:53] Speaker D: The atmosphere was crazy. Like the whole city came together like for two teams that are really competitive and just it being packed was so unreal. And it's just a rival game that we are all looking forward to now from that game.
[00:04:08] Speaker C: What have you guys implemented in practice to kind of prepare you to maybe see them again at the state tournament?
[00:04:14] Speaker D: We just been the same team.
We make sure we're always like hyping each other up. We know what's coming. We know what people are looking forward towards seeing us play. Like they love seeing us play, they love our defense. Like we just make sure that it's on top and ready for the next game, obviously.
[00:04:38] Speaker E: Yeah, we just like to stick together on and off the court so that we can be strong for, so we can like stay together for as long as we can.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Yeah, let's, let's talk about this new arena. This, this place is amazing. I'm looking up here at this video board that is just, is so nice.
It's so big and so it's just so different from the old gym. But I, I, I have to admit to you guys, I love the old gym too. It gets so loud in there.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: That just shows you how old he is.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: That is true. But what are your favorite things about this new arena?
[00:05:15] Speaker E: I think the fact that like when people just come and just like to see it or like view in, it's cool to be like, oh, that's my gym or like to play in it. It's just like a really cool experience because like in the old gym it would always feel so cramped and everything. So now it feels like spacious and we just like, it just feels like I like it here.
[00:05:35] Speaker D: Exactly what Kaya said. I played in the old gym for three years and it's just like, it was always so cramped, but it was always so loud. Like, it doesn't matter how many people were in there. It was always loud. But. But with this new gym, with it being packed, or with it just being like normal people here, it's still always loud because everybody still comes support us.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: All right. We've been visiting with Kyle McCoy and Adriana Hernandez, Springdale High girls. We're really excited about next week, and.
[00:06:08] Speaker C: We have a few actually, some fun rapid fire questions for you guys.
[00:06:11] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:06:13] Speaker C: All right, so out of your teammates, who is the biggest hype man?
[00:06:18] Speaker E: Probably K. Marya.
[00:06:19] Speaker D: She's on the J. Mar.
[00:06:21] Speaker C: Okay. Why?
[00:06:22] Speaker E: She's just really, like, supportive. And, like, anytime we're, like, mad, she just flips it. She makes us laugh. Like, we can't ever be mad around her.
Yeah.
[00:06:32] Speaker C: Who is the one to most likely make coach laugh?
[00:06:37] Speaker D: Charlene. Charlene Hudson.
[00:06:39] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:06:40] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:06:40] Speaker C: Is there anything specific that's made her just laugh in practice?
[00:06:44] Speaker D: It's just how crazy stuff. Sometimes it's just Char's personality.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Speaking of crazy, funny things, Coach Hunsucker on the bench says some really funny stuff at times, too. What? Is there anything you could think of that that is, like, maybe even during a game or during practice, you just have to stop. Like, that's silly.
[00:07:05] Speaker E: Well, she's always saying, like, if we, like, make her man, she'll be like, I swear to my time.
Or, like, if in the game, if we mess up, she'll, like, coach, can it get her out, like, all the time. That's all we ever hear.
[00:07:17] Speaker D: I feel like it's her trying to, like, talk like us. Like, she's trying to bring what we say into practice, like, all of our new lingo and stuff. So I feel like that's one thing that just funny about her.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: Okay, last. Last question we'll ask you guys here is, what would you like to say to all the Springdale fans who are gonna come see you guys next week in tournament?
[00:07:42] Speaker D: Enjoy watching us play. That's really it.
[00:07:45] Speaker E: Yeah. Just come and support us and be loud. We want to see a lot of people.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: You know, their. Their motto is create chaos.
That's what they do. I mean, they go out there and they create chaos. So I know you guys will put a great effort out.
[00:08:00] Speaker E: Yes, we will.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: You guys have had a phenomenal season, and we're so excited to see you guys next week, and we wish you all the best of luck.
[00:08:07] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:08:08] Speaker C: All right, welcome back to Prep Rally. We're here with the principal of Springdale High School. Jason Jones. How are you doing today?
[00:08:14] Speaker A: Awesome. Every day doing great.
[00:08:15] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: Well, Jason, Mr. Jones, I guess I should call you.
It's not every day that you. You get to open up a new arena like you guys have done this year.
But Then to host 6A state basketball tournament here has just got to be a very exciting time for Springdale athletics. So can you just kind of clue us in a little bit about the preparation that goes into such an event like this?
[00:08:44] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. Well, it's an incredible event to. Incredible opportunity to get the host of state tournament. I will tell you that this is a community event without the community or the Springdale community.
It takes a lot of pieces to make things work. There's a lot of details behind the scenes, and luckily we got a great athletic department with coach Fimple and Coach Burnett and Mr. Wood and of course, our district office, and just the whole Springdale school district and the community coming together to work out all the details. It's been a lot and. And I'm ready to get it started just because there's just a lot going on.
[00:09:20] Speaker C: And what are you hopeful to see in next week's state tournament for both your girls and boys teams?
[00:09:26] Speaker A: You know, I'm really excited to one show off the community of Springdale, show off this great facility. But the thing that I'm most excited about is just to show off our kids, love our kids that we have here. And so getting to show people from all over the field, State, the great kids that we have here in the great community, the great school that we have at Springdale. That's what I'm most excited about.
[00:09:47] Speaker B: One of the great. The great stories this year during basketball season with not only Springdale, but Harbor as well is that, you know, both the. The boys and girls teams from both schools have been right up there at the top of the league. And that's unique. You know, a lot of times when you have a split school district, you don't. You don't necessarily see that in the same year. So it's been exciting, you know, to see that.
[00:10:11] Speaker A: Well, exciting is one way to put it. It's been very intense, and it's always an intense rivalry. But right now, when all the teams are really good and really strong and playing really well, that actually adds another layer to things. Yeah, it's an exciting time in Springdale when all the schools are playing well.
[00:10:28] Speaker C: And now you've seen. You've seen both, you know, these students practice day in and day out. What can we expect for the tournament next week? Knowing how hard these kids have worked.
[00:10:37] Speaker A: It'S going to be bananas. You know, it's going to be intense. It's going to be a lot of great basketball, a lot of hard work that's gone on for. Not just for the season, but for years in preparation for, you know, for these kids to get to come out and compete. It's going to be a lot of fun.
[00:10:53] Speaker B: You know, this facility, too. It's been such a long time coming here, and I know you probably got some great memories at old Bulldog Gym just down the road, but this is such. Just a wonderful addition to the Springdale campus. Maybe speak on that.
[00:11:09] Speaker A: Yeah, it was something I really never thought would happen, but with the vision of Dr. Cleveland and the school board at Springdale, they're the ones that made it happen. And you know that there were some unique pieces about the old gym, and that was a lot of fun. But this was needed. It was needed for our community, for our kids, and for the school district.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: Well, I like it a lot. It's a very smooth format. I mean, I walked in, you know where everything is. Here's the gym. You walk straight outside, there's the football stadium. So it all come together really nicely.
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Yeah, we're really fortunate to have it, folks.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: If you haven't come out to see this arena, this is a great week to do it. There's plenty of. Plenty of places to sit here. I don't know what the capacity is in here, but there. There'll be plenty of room. And, you know, there's not a bad seat in the house.
[00:11:51] Speaker C: All right, that was this week of Prep Rally's episode. Make sure to watch these ladies right over here in next week's tournament, and we'll see you guys next week.
We kind of. I bet we look related right now.
