NEW MADISON – The morning before the Tri-Village girls basketball team celebrated its two seniors with a win over Russia, one of those seniors made her commitment to further her career official.
On Thursday, Emma Printz signed her letter of intent to begin her future at Bethel College.
“It is a really good feeling knowing all your hard work is about to pay off and I am glad I get to open the next chapter of my life,” Printz said. “I feel like Bethel is a close-knit community … kind of like it is here at Tri-Village and it is going to be a good fit for me.”
Bethel College, located in Mishawaka, Ind., is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and competes in the Crossroads League.
“It is a good day for Emma and her family,” Tri-Village coach Brad Gray said. “She has put a lot of time into this game since she was a little kid and it is always good when you see people who’ve committed like she has to the game and is now being rewarded for that.
“I think Bethel is a really good fit for her,” he continued. “I think it is a place where she can go and be effective right away.”
Interim Bethel College women’s basketball coach Chris Hess was on hand for the signing and was excited to bring a player like Printz to the program.
“Watching video and game film and seeing a ball handler, a shooter and someone who likes to push tempo and get up and down the court – a scrappy player – and that is exactly what we are looking for and we are excited about it,” Hess said. “Something you really can’t teach is that heart and passion for the game which she has,” he continued. “She is also a great teammate watching her interact here with teammates here for the first time. She is going to be a great fit at a time we need players like that to kind of rebuild who we’ve been and who we want to be.”
Hess explained that the program recently lost its entire coaching staff and will begin the process of hiring a new coach in the near future. Hess was an assistant coach for the women’s program for about 10 years he said when the team was among the top 10 in the nation.
“That is what we are trying to get back to, so we will have a coaching change in the near future and we will start that process in the next few weeks,” he said.
Printz said she plans to study Exercise Science at Bethel College with her career choice being Athletic Training.
