Senior seasons for any sport tend to be more emotionally charged and intense simply because the stakes are higher for a player in their last season. For driven players like Haley Esser and Alexa Back of the Eaglecrest girls basketball team, this season is more meaningful than most.

“There was a big group of us [seniors] and we were the only ones who made it this far,” said Esser. “It's just kind of crazy. It has been just such a great experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world or play with any other people or any other coach, you know?” Esser and Back, the only two seniors to stay on the team all four years, have an almost familial connection to the team and to their coach, Robby Gabrielli, who aside from coaching is a video production teacher and Nest Network advisor here at Eaglecrest.

“Coach G is such a good role model. He's like a dad to all of us,” said Esser. “I mean, he can be really hard like any coach can, but he really cares about us as people…I'm his student assist for 2B, and we just sit and we talk about basketball or life or anything.” Gabrielli’s players frequently come to him, whether to break down a game, strategize, ask questions, or just talk. Having coached Esser and Back all four years, he knows them perhaps better than most.

“They're the two who stuck it out to earn their place in our program, and they've done it by being resilient and by persevering. So I'm really happy with them,” said Gabrielli. “Haley and Alexa signing is a really good sign and a great fit for them. They're both really good kids. Good basketball players who should just continue to get better.”

And Gabrielli has good reason to be proud, even beyond their work ethic. Both Esser and Back recently signed to play basketball in college. That in itself is undoubtedly a testament to their hard work.

“As a freshman, not a lot of people had a lot of faith in me,” said Back. “I worked really hard to at least get an offer and commit. It's been a really rewarding experience. But it's also really hard because it took a lot of work to get to where I am right now.” Back signed to Nebraska Wesleyan University in October, officially committing to play for the DIII team starting next year. For Back, her talent and passion for playing basketball have led her down a rather long and winding high school career.

“I've been on varsity since freshman [year],” said Back. “It's definitely been challenging, but it's rewarding at the same time.” Her coach, Gabrielli, explained the ups and downs that eventually led to her success.

“Alexa is a really unique situation because she made varsity as a freshman but she didn’t play very much. Then as she started to get to a point where she could play more, she broke her thumb,” explained Gabrielli. “She went into her sophomore year and played really well over the summer and then as the year went on, she sort of lost her footing a little bit and didn’t play very much as a sophomore. Then, as a junior last year, she got some minutes and she really worked hard to really improve and do what we needed her to.” Being able to face adversity and find improvement despite that is part of what makes Back a notable player. And while she acknowledges that she and the team have improved skill-wise, she attributes much of that to Coach Gabrielli.

“Coach has done a really good job of developing a program and learning how to teach people to be better basketball players and people as well,” said Back. Developing the program, for Gabrielli in large part meant creating more of a support system and team atmosphere for the players --even beyond high school.

“Since I've started, we've made helping our players play in college a priority. So often basketball high school coaches think that's a club coach's responsibility. But for us, we provide a free kind of recruiting service for all of our girls,” said Gabrielli. Putting that support system in place and fostering a cohesive team have made an impact on its players, especially the seniors.

“This team just means the world to us,” said Esser. “And playing for the school has really been a treat. I love being the underdog. I love people thinking that we can't beat them. We had the best League record that we've had in a really long time. So there's just a lot more pride in who we're playing for.” As both a basketball and soccer player, Esser has quite a bit of experience playing for the school. Now, as a senior, she is looking to move on to bigger and better opportunities.

Having committed to Saint Mary's University of Minnesota for both basketball and soccer, Esser specifically wanted to pursue both sports. “I didn't want to go DI for soccer because I'm pretty good at soccer but I knew if I went to a DI program, I either wouldn't be very good or I wouldn't play. I didn't want to go somewhere to just sit out of the game. I would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond,” said Esser. “So that's what I get for soccer. And for basketball, I have to really earn my place there.” A multi-sport athlete, Esser prioritized pursuing both sports, which gives her a unique story.

“Haley is a really interesting story because she didn't really think of herself as a basketball player,” said Gabrielli. “She had played basketball a little bit, but she was a soccer player. And she came to open gym that summer going into her freshman year and we noticed really right away that she was really athletic and had a really strong work ethic and was really competitive. And those were traits we really wanted to emphasize.” Gabrielli explained that those traits were what convinced the coaches to add her to the program.

It was those same traits that allowed her to make so much improvement and become a college-signed player. “I’m really happy for her because I don't think coming into high school and she not only didn't look at herself as a basketball player, but I don’t think she considered that she might be able to play in college,” said Gabrielli.

Though both girls committed to their schools early in the year, they were able to attend the official signing ceremony in November. Despite being already committed, the symbolism of the event was just as meaningful.

“To be celebrated and to have Coach G talk about us-- just how proud he is and all that -- that was really awesome,” said Esser. “I think that's really awesome that everybody gets the same recognition because going to college for any sport or any division really is awesome. I don't think people understand how hard it is to get into any division.”

With their final high school season ahead of them, both Back and Esser are looking forward to their season. And it’s a senior season only made sweeter by the fact that they are already signed to schools.

“I feel like this is the best season,” said Back. “I feel the most prepared and I'm the most excited to play. I feel like the team is playing really well. And I feel like we're gonna do really well this year.”