Wildcat Pals Builds Friendships—and More

Women’s basketball is gaining attention, especially in Naperville.  Ever since Candace Parker graced the court at nearly a decade ago, the sport’s popularity has grown.

It wasn’t always that way. 

Fourteen years ago, when Mike Williams began as assistant athletic director and head women’s basketball coach at in Naperville, the sport barely received any recognition. That is when Williams began a unique program he named the Wildcat Pal Club, which has grown into a very successful enterprise.

“At the time I started here women’s basketball was the low man on the totem pole,” Williams said. “I wanted to build an atmosphere [at the school] that was conducive to building the [women’s basketball] program.” 

The Pal basketball program is  open to girls in 4th through 8th grade who are in feeder schools to Neuqua Valley. The girls have to try out and are placed on teams that practice twice a week and play two games a week, usually on Sundays at the high school located on the southwest side of Naperville.

The unique part of the program is that girls have the option to be mentored by members of Neuqua Valley's varsity girls’ basketball team.

“Through the Wildcat Pal Club the girls connect with the varsity players and go to social events with them,” Williams said of the program he started.  It “makes sure the younger girls always have a constant connection with the high school, so when they walk in here as freshmen they feel a connection.”

But it isn’t only the girls who are connected. Williams said the club benefits the varsity players, as well as himself.

“I get to see the girls from 4th through 8th grades and we have a feel of who they are and what their strengths and weaknesses are before they even start at Neuqua,” he said.  “The kids come to the games, they build school spirit and they will remember the friendships they have made all their lives.”

Amber Smith, a junior at Neuqua, joined the Pal program when she was in middle school. She made the varsity as a sophomore and knew right away she would be involved with the feeder program.

“Because I played on the feeder teams I had friends here [at Neuqua], someone to look up to,” Smith said. “I thought it was so cool that someone who was on the varsity team would talk to me.  So now I come to my pals’ games and support them.”

Courtney Keefer said she loved being a young member of the Pal program, which is why she knew she would participate in it when she made the varsity as a freshman.

“I loved the program, especially with the Wildcat Pals because we got to see all the high school girls and got to know the coaching staff,” Keefer said.  “I had always wanted to play basketball in high school so seeing the girls at the games made me feel like they were my big sisters. It gave me hope that I could be on the varsity team some day, just like them.”

Now that she is a member of the varsity and a mentor to younger girls, Keefer wants the girls to know that, even as a freshman, they can make the varsity.

“I want them to know that they just have to try their best and they will get [to the varsity] eventually,” she said.  “I enjoy building a relationship with my pals, telling them ‘good game,’ giving them advice and letting them know that I am here for them.

“But the best part of the program is being able to meet the players and the coaches [as a middle school student].  It makes you feel like you are a part of the high school, even though you are still in middle school.”

As a mentor, Smith said the most important thing she wants to teach the younger girls is to play the sport for a reason.

“I want them to enjoy playing basketball,” she said.  “I want them to play for the right reason and to just love the game.”