San Pasqual is almost halfway through their school year, which means that winter sports are in gear. Girls basketball is among the few winter sports that have started this year and the varsity team has gained a couple fresh faces like Emma Joyal, who just so happens to be a freshman.

“I joined basketball because I needed something to do in my spare time and sports helped me find a way to balance myself between school and free time and still have an activity to do,” Joyal said.

Joyal is new to the school but she has made varsity in her first year, which is a huge accomplishment already, but she has some other things she wants to accomplish by the end of the season.

“By the end of the season, I would like to have accomplished at least some type of playing time, being a freshman on a varsity team, and I want to make my skills in shooting better because I’m predominantly a post player. I just want to advance in all of the skills I have,” Joyal said.

A lot of people get nervous before trying out for a sport and that’s common, especially when you feel intimidated by the people that you are going up against. Since Joyal is a freshman on a varsity team, tryouts were nerve-wracking for her.

 “I was nervous at tryouts because sometimes when you are going up against people that you know are better than you, you lose self confidence. But I got better over time because I knew the people I was playing with and I knew my own skills and ability,” Joyal said.

Even though Joyal is new to the school, and a fresh face on the team, she has confidence when she plays, and she shares that confidence with her teammates.

“I don’t necessarily get nervous before games, unless it’s on the line. Before games, I get hyped up by listening to music but for my teammates, we talk to each other and we tell each other that we can do this, we can win and be happy at the end of the night, and that’s pretty much what we all look forward to,” Joyal said.

Joyal’s team is like one big family and all they want to do is help each other and see what they can gain from their experience during the season.

“I feel like the only way that I’m ever going to get better is to play and push myself with the upperclassmen and I think that’s what I can take away from me being a freshman on a varsity team, which also allows me to see the potential I could have in three to four years from now and the varsity team here is such a family that it doesn’t even feel like you have an age difference” Joyal said.