After watching three coaches come and go over the past four seasons, no one would blame the Mountlake Terrace Hawks girls basketball team if they were a little skeptical of yet another new face getting hired to lead the program this year.

But this time may be different as the new face is actually someone very familiar to many on this year’s Hawks roster.

Michael Jones, the fourth head coach of the Terrace’s girls basketball program since 2014, takes over a squad full of players whom he has led previously — Jones most recently has been coaching the eighth grade basketball team at Brier Terrace Middle School.

Now at the helm of the high school program, Jones is telling anyone who will listen that he is in it for the long haul and ready to provide some stability to Hawks’ girls basketball.

“I’m not leaving in one, two, three years; I’m not looking for the next job,” Jones said. “I want to be here for the next 20 years; I want to be here until I retire as a coach, to build the program — not just here at the high school but at the lower levels for the next 20 years. That’s what I promised them; I promised these girls that I’m not going anywhere.”

Jones explained that he hopes his commitment to the school will instill confidence in parents, the school administration, fans and mostly, the players.

“That’s what’s going to grow the program,” Jones insisted. “If it’s constant change, girls are going to stop playing; they’re not going to be excited about it.”

“There’s also, especially in girls basketball, a big trust issue,” he continued. “They have to trust the coach and the staff; and if you’re changing coaches every year, it’s hard to build that trust.”

In addition to building trust in him, Jones will also be trying to raise up a program that has found wins hard to come by over the past few years; the Hawks have gone 9-71 since the start of the 2013-2014 season.

Jones admits that 2018-2019 may be another year with fewer wins than losses.

“There hasn’t been a lot of success for the program, and you mix that with a lot of first-time varsity players — it’s going to be a bumpy season,” Jones stated. “But I think these girls are up for the task of at least going out there and working hard every single game and not letting some of the tough games get them down.”

The Hawks return five players from last year’s team that won just three of 21 games; the returnees are led by four-year varsity player and expected floor general Trinity Prout.

“Trinity is just a natural leader on the court,” said Jones. “She does a lot of stuff. She kind of catches you off guard; you maybe don’t expect her to be as quick, aggressive — driving to the basket she can get that step on people. But really she’s out there loving the game, encouraging her teammates to be better.”

“Ultimately she’s being my voice on the court; she’s being a coach on the court for me, which is really needed,” Jones added.

Joining Prout in the backcourt will be senior Lydia Prelow, a player with the athleticism that could be hard for other teams to match up against.

“She’s kind of one of those do-everything players (and) she wants the game,” Jones explained. “She actually wants to move on and play at the college level. So I’m really going to give her that chance to explore the game. And she’s going to own it; she’s going to go out there and shoot threes, she’s going to go out there and fight for balls.”

Sophomores Kiaya Beavin and Berit Simonsen return to the Terrace squad this season after getting playing time as freshmen last year. Jones hopes that with a year of experience behind them — and some new direction — Beavin and Simonsen can become big contributors to this year’s team.

“They kind of got thrown up there last year as freshmen on varsity,” he noted. “Kaiya was kind of put out of position; she was put at more of a forward spot, having to play against bigger girls. Kaiya is really a strong defender, gets in the lanes, gets steals.”

“Berit, when she wants to, is a very strong inside post 15-foot jump shooter,” Jones said. “If they’re able to go out and play their game, we’re going to see a big jump from their freshman year.”

There are seven Hawks moving up from last year’s junior varsity and C-teams at Terrace to the varsity squad; Jones is pleased with how the varsity rookies are developing so far this preseason.

“There’s some inexperience there, but they’re growing fast,” Jones said. “The returners are really bringing them in, making us a good solid team, supporting them and encouraging them.”

With three of their first four games at home, Jones is looking for a sense of confidence and toughness to emerge during the early part of the Hawks’ season. He is also hoping a fresh start with new coaching — and a new philosophy — will really change the nature of Terrace girls basketball.

“I’m trying to give them a lot of freedom to go out and really flourish their game this season,” he said.

Mountlake Terrace Hawks 2018-2019 Girls Basketball

Coach: Michael Jones (first year)

2017-2018 record: 2-10 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 3-18 overall (0-1 in District 1/2 2A Girls Basketball Tournament)

2018-2019 first game: versus Sehome, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7:15 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School

Key players: Trinity Prout, senior guard; Lydia Prelow, senior guard; Kierra Scott, junior forward; Kiaya Beavin, sophomore forward; Berit Simonsen, sophomore post; Ishika Nayyar, senior post

2018-2019 schedule: click http://www.wescoathletics.com/index.php?pid=0.3.40.12.321

— by Doug Petrowski