Entering the 2022-23 season after a loss in a regional qualifying game, the South Prairie-Max Royals feel like they have the foundation for success and are looking to build off that. While doing so, Royals’ head coach Sheila Gerding wants the team to utilize an everyday approach to reach their goal.

“I want to build upon the success this young team had last season and improve every day,” Gerding tells The Minot Daily News.

The Royals win over Berthold in the District 12 Tournament last year was the first district tournament win in program history, giving them a lot to build off and putting them closer to receiving a regional tournament bid.

Players returning to the Royals like Jayla Kannianen, MaKya Gerding, Azjiah Trader, Skotti Beck, Abby Mikkelson, and Maycie Talbott are all key members that will help the Royals take that next step as a team, according Gerding.

In addition to those players, the Royals will get Amy Mikkelson back in their lineup, who missed last season due to an ACL injury. Mikkelson was an impact player for the Royals two years ago and will look to get back to that form in 2022-23.

On the court, Gerding believes that if the Royals can focus on improving their defense and playing hard, those can quickly develop into the team’s strengths.

“We have a lot of kids who like to shoot the ball, but it will come down to how hard we play defensively. That is the one part of the game we can control. If we can stay healthy and buy into our system, we should have good depth,” Gerding said when talking about the strengths of the Royals.

With all of the work and individual development that the athletes put in during the summer, Gerding is hopeful that will translate to the Royals improving in multiple areas on the court.

The Royals and Gerding will be able to see the benefits of their hard work on Nov. 29 when they head to Crosby to take on Divide County to begin the regular season. The first home game for the Royals will take place on Dec. 8 when they host Drake-Anamoose.