Honeoye doesn't have girls basketball this year so 2 girls made the boys varsity team

There is no point to prove, no barrier to break. It’s not a statement and there is no reading between the lines.

For Gabby Trippi and April Washburn, it’s really about one thing and one thing only. They just want to play basketball.

So that’s what these Honeoye High juniors will be doing this winter. It’s just not with the team they thought it would be with. They’ll be playing with the Honeoye boys this season and that’s something they’re quite OK with, considering the alternative.

Trippi and Washburn first started hearing the rumors during soccer season. They heard there was a chance the Bulldogs would not have enough girls for a varsity basketball team this season. They graduated five players from last season’s 11-player roster, another was out with an injury and a couple more decided to not play.

Before long, it was official. While Trippi and Washburn wanted to play, they were players without a team. Honeoye made the decision to take a break from varsity competition with the hope of returning in 2020-21.

“I was upset at first,” said Washburn, a 5-foot-3 guard. “But then we got to talking with our athletic director and she said there was an option.”

Playing with the boys?

“My brother was all for it,” said Trippi, a 5-10 forward whose brother Dom is a senior forward with the Bulldogs. “He was the first to say we should come play with them.”

Before that happened, Honeoye explored merger options with other schools but that didn’t pan out. So trying out for the boys team became the reality, which presented several hurdles to clear. 

First, there were parents to convince. That didn’t take much, according to both girls, who then had to meet regulations for mixed competition as put forth by New York State Education. 

Once that was cleared, there was the question of chemistry of having female athletes on a male team. But it wasn’t as challenging as it might appear, especially for a small district like Honeoye.

“These boys are our friends, we’ve all grown up together,” said Washburn.

The first practice with the boys team was on Nov. 11 but by then, practicing with the boys was nothing new. Open gyms before then gave Trippi and Washburn the opportunity to play with the Honeoye boys and while the comfort zone with teammates was there, another adjustment or two remained.

“The intensity and pace is the main difference,” said Trippi. “It was really different, but I think we’re getting the hang of it.”

Honeoye coach Robb Delisanti didn’t plan on coaching girls this season, but when the scenario unfolded, he was on board.

“I just put myself in their shoes,” said Delisanti, who also working with the district to promote and encourage girls basketball at the youth level. “I have a daughter and she loves basketball … I guess I had an option to say no to this, but I didn’t really think of saying that. They just want to play. They’re super coachable, they work hard and have a great attitude.”

Of all the moments that could have been awkward, the biggest of them came at the first scrimmage of the season. Both girls remember walking into the gym against Wayland-Cohocton and yes, they felt a lot of eyes.

“One of the boys had this look like ‘I have to guard the girl?’” said Washburn. 

“And when we were put on, I noticed the one boy didn’t post up really strong on me,” said Trippi. “He wasn’t going as hard as he could have been.”

So what was her response to that?

“Take advantage of it,” Trippi said with a laugh. “I wanted to show them I was here to compete.”

Boy or girl, that’s the kind of mindset a coach loves to see from a player. Delisanti said he’s seen plenty of it so far, not only in the effort from Washburn and Trippi, but in the way the team is coming together with a dynamic that’s new to both boys and girls.

“I’m proud they didn’t cash their chips in,” he said. “I give them a lot of credit for doing this … They want to work and they want to be part of a team.”