Maryland HS Preview: IAAM Conference

The Baltimore Area Private School league, the IAAM is set up in three tiers of schools. Much like premier league soccer, winning and losing can mean moving up or down between the tiers, so there is change all the time. It's a little tricky covering everyone and getting the star players, so I'm going to do things a bit differently in this one. There are some contenders in the A conference I'll cover normally. Some in B I'll give some love, and then I'll do some highlighting of individual players on some other teams. Just too much for one post here, and I found last year it's hard to dig up info on a lot of these teams. So let's see how I do:   A Conference:   Annapolis Area Christian School   Yep, remember that post last year? Just want it noted that before everyone jumped on the bandwagon, there was me. Not only warning everyone what was coming but predicting them to win three consecutive years. Yep, caught a LOT of flack for that one, but uh...undefeated? And now ranked nationally? Nailed that one. Jen Groshek and crew have been every bit as spectacular as I said they would be. Their lineup is an all-star squad, and it's very youth heavy. There's some senior leadership with setter [player_tooltip player_id='749757' first='Dakota' last='Pentorn'], and Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='545725' first='Abisola' last='Adeyemo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='587884' first='Charlotte' last='Dittmar'] are holding down the middle along with Soph [player_tooltip player_id='748492' first='Paetyn' last='Brown']. The rest of the Soph crew, DS [player_tooltip player_id='896390' first='Harper' last='Walker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='781700' first='Gianna' last='Bonnett'], Setter [player_tooltip player_id='762823' first='Brie' last='Mouton'], and pins [player_tooltip player_id='749642' first='Sophia' last='Groshek'], [player_tooltip player_id='753070' first='Avery' last='Lettinga'] and [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'] are the rest of the team. There's not much weakness here. An early season win against WCAC power Paul VI has garnered even more attention.    There are so many options to highlight on this team it's almost unfair, but I need to keep spreading the love between them because they know they are one of my favorite groups of kids. I'm going to go with Avery for this one. She gets overshadowed sometimes with Scarlett and Sophia here and then with [player_tooltip player_id='762829' first='Angela' last='Zhang'] during club season, it's a lot of talent at the pin, but Avery has the best back row defense of all of them. It's weird cause all of them can play all around and won't hurt you, so picking a "best of" out of that is kind of tough, but Avery is the closest you could convert to a Lib if you needed to, if that puts it in perspective, wouldn't be the first time she's done it. I wonder if there's a record for the HS team with the most girls signed on June 15th? Because I feel like this team may make a run at it, it's getting close.    Archbishop Spalding   Spalding lost their standout middle to graduation last year, and she was a big part of their offense. They did bring in a transfer from Indian Creek, London Faust who can play some middle, a little shorter for the center spot, but very athletic and can make it work, but could also play RS if they've got more height. Adding her to Senior [player_tooltip player_id='753062' first='Madelyn' last='Mauro'] and Senior [player_tooltip player_id='955216' first='Milla' last='Danek'] gives Spalding a solid offense for this conference. Another much needed infusion of youth comes in the form of Freshman DS Valyn Kaitz who looks like she will be taking over the Lib spot. In the IAAM that's a fairly deep roster, and a solid offense, and it may be enough to put them in the running for that league final matchup, in the end, it will probably depend on how their defense does, but they should be in the mix down the stretch for sure.    Maddie was an offensive force for Spalding last year. She carried it over into club season and played all around 6 in a grueling qualifier and national schedule. She put a lot of work into her defense, and is always hustling, but her strength is her offensive game. She's got an absolute cannon and it's tough for most of this league to handle. Adding London to this group should help add some other options and make the defense guess a bit more.    Maryvale   They are usually half of the championship game, last year they didn't disappoint. Unfortunately AACS is a juggernaut and they just came up short in the finals. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='547072' first='Victoria' last='Small'] and Sophie Harari have had a great run for four years now, winning titles, being competitive, and now they saddle up for one last run and have AACS staring them down for the rematch. You don't get much more experience than this team, they've got upperclassmen that have only known competition, Victoria is one of the best in the business, and Sophie is a legit all around RS that can match up head to head against a star like [player_tooltip player_id='749642' first='Sophia' last='Groshek'] at AACS. It'll be interesting to see how things play out with the other teams and what that finals matchup ends up being.    Victoria committed last year to Bridgewater in VA, and that was a strike of genius on both sides. She found a school that feels right and is a good fit for her, and Bridgewater grabbed one of the top DS in the region. She's had a great career going into this Senior season, constantly battling for conference titles, and competing on a national level for Maryland Juniors. The best part might just be the character though. She's one of the best kids you'll ever meet, a great teammate, better friend, a wonderful person and has never let the success she's had in youth go to her head. If there was ever a kid you wanted to cheer and root for, it's Victoria. As much as you hear coaches talk about the off court stuff being important and that you need to be aware of your behavior, this is the poster child for how to behave and how to do things. She's going to be such a treasure for Bridgewater and our whole region will feel less than when we don't get to see her every day.    Conference B   Glenelg Country Day School   The champs are here. Winners last year, they've brought some more firepower to the fight this season and may be in the driver's seat to repeat. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='896386' first='Kristina' last='Melton'] brings the experience and a feature point of the offense, is already off to a great start this season. The new developments to the team are that they brought in [player_tooltip player_id='588468' first='Bella' last='Chen'], a standout DS from [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] and formerly of Glenelg HS to help solidify the defense and passing game. And newcomer RS [player_tooltip player_id='1003948' first='Finley' last='Ferguson'] is shaping up to be a superstar, coming in as a freshman. That trio may be enough to tame the conference, it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out, but great coaching, experience balanced with a few stars in the lineup is usually a championship recipe in this conference.    Finley has all the foundation and building blocks set up to be an absolute nightmare for opposing teams. A lefty RS with good adjustment instincts is usually a problem, especially when they are 6'2 as a freshman. My prediction for her is that she's going to get more confident in different schemes, plays and approaches, and get more comfortable with her timing this season and she is going to make some absolutely huge jumps through this next year. She's one of the standout players to watch in the class of 2030 and one that I'll be watching the closest. Every once in a while you get a feeling you should just make some popcorn and enjoy the show, and that's the vibe I'm getting here. Can't wait to see if the IAAM is ready for her.    Other Players To Watch In the IAAM   Jasmine Tucker - St. Paul's   Devyn Simon - St. Paul's   [player_tooltip player_id='753079' first='Reagan' last='Barrett'] - Notre Dame Prep    Reagan was hidden on a standout Juniors team who has finished at the top of the national picture a couple times already. When some of her starting teammates left to go to Metro last year it opened an opportunity for someone to shine on a team with [player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas'], who was already getting major national attention. She is a good lesson for girls looking at what team they are on for club, a team playing the big qualifiers and showcases, that's getting coach attention, and being able to get big minutes on that team, is GOING to get you some major college attention. Better even than going to that big name club and playing on a super team. Yeah, it'll be great to compete for a national title, but you can't get recruited if you're hidden on the bench either. You need to play. Reagan capitalized on that, showed off a great ability to hit from the back row, and surprisingly good defense for an OH. She cashed in on that whole picture and signed with D1 New Mexico. This is how you do it kids, pay attention.    [player_tooltip player_id='947212' first='Shae' last='Donnelly'] - Severn School

The Baltimore Area Private School league, the IAAM is set up in three tiers of schools. Much like premier league soccer, winning and losing can mean moving up or down between the tiers, so there is change all the time. It's a little tricky covering everyone and getting the star players, so I'm going to do things a bit differently in this one. There are some contenders in the A conference I'll cover normally. Some in B I'll give some love, and then I'll do some highlighting of individual players on some other teams. Just too much for one post here, and I found last year it's hard to dig up info on a lot of these teams. So let's see how I do: