ARIANA IS GRAND
To build a good program and not just a good team, you need to continue to build on young players. Poland has a handful of promising young players this season, and one of those players is Ariana Daniels. The freshman Daniels came found a new school in Poland this year. It can be a difficult task to sync in with a brand new group of people. This was not the case for Daniels. She felt the family atmosphere immediately when she stepped into Poland’s gym. That atmosphere is something Coach Blanch has taken time to build and make strong. Daniels said that meeting coach Blanch was intimidating, she knew what the program had done in the last couple years and wanted to live up to that standard. But as soon as that meeting happened Ariana knew it was going to be a good fit. Daniels says she came into this year struggling with confidence, but quickly gained it on this team. Everyone supports everyone at Poland, and that makes an immediate impact. Now Ariana is in a place where she feels completely comfortable out on the court. Daniels is a player that plays on both JV and Varsity. She gets to navigate being a leader on the JV team, and then be lead by the captains on varsity. Coach Blanch says that it’s grooming Daniels into being a great leader in the future. Ariana said the same thing, she gets to take in the lessons from the varsity leaders and then use them to lead the JV squad. She’s got a lot to live up to wearing the number 2, the same as Sarah Bury who was so important to the last four years of the program. Daniels said she just wants to make Bury proud that she’s continuing the legacy. You can make a good bet that Daniels will make an impact on the team for years to come just like Bury. Poland has one less problem with Ariana on the team. They’ve added a sweetener to the group. If you watch you will see that Ariana is grand.
Anthony Hartwig got the chance to sit down with Ariana this week. They discuss coming to a new school, the family atmosphere of the team, and much more. Get to know another Poland Bulldog in the latest Player Profile Ariana is Grand.
