Rhiannon Boesl is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Thunderbird High School for AZPreps365.com 

PHOENIX - Fourteen years as an assistant coach, then 16 years as the head coach, Barry Ringel leads Thunderbird girls basketball into another season as he celebrates his 30th year of coaching. 

Ringel's basketball journey began when he was young. He said he would just play around at the playgrounds, and it was not until his daughter joined Thunderbird that he got connected to the community.

“My daughter played at Thunderbird for four years. She was the varsity player for four years. And when she graduated, coach Steve Burke, who was the head coach at the time, asked me to come in and help out,” Ringel said. 

In the last 15 years, Ringel has recorded 14 winning seasons.

Thunderbird said goodbye to six seniors last year, but the team’s chemistry is still strong. 

“We have seven coming back, which is a good core,” Ringel said. “And then we're excited about some of the younger ones…I don’t necessarily look for freshman, sophomore, junior. I look and say, ‘Can they play?’”

Two of those seven are seniors, Victoria Wilkerson and Arianna Willsey. The girls have repped a Titans jersey since their freshman year, working their way up to varsity. 

Willsey has stepped into a leadership role this year and enjoys it. She directs traffic on the court and maintains the pace for the Titans.

“Everyone's just always wanting to have fun and stuff like that. I feel like we’re a good team anyway, so it's a good mix between seriousness and fun,” Willsey said. 

Ringel’s strategy to keep the community strong is simple: play basketball. From open gyms to summer league to camp, the Titans are sure to make the most of each opportunity. 

“We play basketball as much as we can,” Ringel said, “We run a big summer league at Thunderbird.

It's the biggest girls' basketball league in the state...We keep them involved. So that kind of adds that familiarity in that culture.”

The Titans opened this season with the Mountain Ridge Invitational Tournament. They went 1-1 on the first day, defeating Cactus High School 60-14 before falling to North High School. 

“What I love about our group is we keep coming back, we show resilience, and we show support for each other, and that’s important,” Ringel said. 

The Titans’ dynamic orchestrates a harmony on the court distributing the ball throughout the team and confusing the opposing defense. Even during difficult competition, you will find the Titans dancing, smiling, and enjoying the moment. 

They have a good balance between goofiness and focus. Wilkerson said when things start to slip, they’ll look at one another and remind them, “You need to lock in, let’s go.”

The Titans leave it all on the court every play, even against tough opponents. Ringel plays a large role in this attitude among the team. Willsey said, “Barry's determined to make the team as best as it can be.” “He pushes us to work harder,” Wilkerson added.

Ringel and the Titans will open their home courts to face St. Mary’s High School on Tuesday.