By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Hopedale’s Phoebe Carroll was thrust into sports at a young age and not by her own hand. 

Her mother played basketball in high school and college and thought that it would be good for her daughter to get involved with it. 

 

“I think it was around kindergarten when my mom forced me to play basketball because it was something that she did,” Carroll said. “Originally I was not into it, but it eventually it became fun to play.”

Carroll also takes part in volleyball and softball in addition to her time on the court for the Blue Raiders. The sophomore began playing club basketball in the fifth grade for the Central Mass Swarm and as of late has been involved with the Mass Huskies.  

Being that Hopedale Jr/Sr High School allows seventh- and eighth-graders to participate in their sporting programs, Carroll decided to try out for the team during her first year in the high school. As a seventh-grader she made the varsity squad but found it tough to get playing time with 11 talent athletes ahead of her. But she said she learned a lot sitting on the bench.

The following year she was part of the Blue Raiders’ magical run through the Division 5 State Tournament. Along with her Hopedale teammates, the team won all five of its games in pretty remarkable fashion. Hopedale had wins of 32, 29, 28, 2 and 10 points in the Championship contest.

“As an eighth-grader, I was starting with four seniors. It was scary, but by playing with them I became more confident in my game,” she said. “The varsity game was much faster than anything I had ever been involved in and I had to keep up with them; eventually I got used to it.”

The youngster had fun playing with the likes of Bre Frongillo that season and when it came time for the championship game, she was not really aware what they were actually playing for.

“That season was really fun and as stupid as it sounds, I was not even aware of what was going on – I thought it was just another game,” Carroll said.

Although she didn’t know what was at stake, Coach Jason Rojee noted that his eighth-grade forward had herself a phenomenal game. Carroll hauled down an incredible 23 rebounds during the game and was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder throughout the regular season with 14 points and 12 rebounds per game.

“She just went out and played her hardest, like she does every game,” Cheryl Carroll said. “She was part of a special team that year and being so young she really didn’t know what was going on, she was just doing her part.”

Through the years Coach Rojee has seen Carroll’s confidence and maturity grow and as a freshman last winter she took a lot on her shoulders. Although the Blue Raiders did not win another State Championship, the team did manage to go 9-11 and earn themselves a spot in the tournament where they captured two wins before falling in the Round of 16.

“Phoebe has become a versatile player who is very athletic,” the Hopedale Coach said.  “She has been put into a leadership role at such a young age.”

Coming into her sophomore season, the 6’0” center will be looked upon to do a lot for her team this year. 

“It should be an interesting season,” she said. “Last year we had no seniors on the team; this year we should be stronger and will defiantly be better.”

Now that the Blue Raiders have some upper classmen on the squad, Carroll is hoping that the squad can once again go all the way through the Division 5 Tournament.

“I want to win it all again and being a part of getting the team to that point,” she said. “As a team leader I want to help this team get another championship.”

In addition to getting Hopedale into another Championship game and winning it, she has another goal. Before she graduates Hopedale Jr/Sr High School, she wants to eclipse that 1000-point barrier.

“My goal is to hit 1001 points during my Hopedale career,” Carroll said. “MY mom’s name is on that banner with 1000 points and I want my name to go above hers and beat out her record.”

While she still has three seasons of basketball still on her docket, when she does leave Hopedale, Carroll is hoping that she can continue playing basketball on the collegiate level. She knows that at this point she is fully capable of driving to the hoop but would like to improve her shorting outside of the key, especially her three-point shooting.

With three years still remaining in her Blue Raiders career, Carroll has plenty of time to improve her game for college, but in the meantime, she is looking at putting up another State Championship banner for girls’ basketball.