Development isn’t linear for any athlete.
To this point, after being a key contributor last season, Geneva’s Leah Palmer experienced one of the biggest jumps in her development between her sophomore and junior years.
As a junior this season, however, the 5-foot-11 guard/forward has taken another leap forward for the Vikings while playing alongside senior guard Cassidy Arni.
“I feel a lot more experienced on the court, a lot calmer,” Palmer said. “I have gotten better at ball handling. I feel like more of a leader this year and I have a bigger role.
“I do feel like I have matured into this role.”
Still, it took a ton of hard work to get to this point.
Now in her third varsity season, Palmer spent the offseason playing with the Illinois Rockets, her AAU team. She also spent extensive time working with William Hobbs, her trainer, to improve her skills.
“I’ve been working so hard over the summer, trying to be ready for this season,” Palmer said. “I have goals that I hope to reach. I’m hoping this hard work will pay off.”
So far, Palmer has played a starring role for Geneva (12-2). She made the all-tournament team both at Hampshire for Thanksgiving and at Morton College for Christmas.
“She has grown a ton since last year,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said of Palmer. “Her maturity as a player has come a long way. She sees the floor better. She’s a better passer.
“This has been her biggest growth so far. She’s done a really nice job getting ready to play at this level.”
Having Arni alongside has made the transition even smoother.
Arni, the 2021-22 Beacon-News/Courier-News Player of the Year, signed in November with Wisconsin-Parkside. She also was named the MVP at Morton, which the Vikings won with a 50-42 victory over Fremd in the final.
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On top of that, Arni scored her 1,000th career point in the tournament.
“I think we complement each other really well,” Palmer said. “She’s super athletic. I really do enjoy playing with her because she’s so talented. I take a lot of stuff from her. It helps me grow my game.”
Meadows doesn’t discount having an older player to look up to and watch prepare every day can only be helpful for Palmer, who figures to be the team leader next season as a senior.
Palmer also bounces things off her older sister, Kate, a starter at Illinois Wesleyan.
“It’s been a really nice relationship between the two of them,” Meadows said of Arni and Leah. “Cass is so good at scoring and she’s a great passer, too. Leah has a great example in Cass. It takes a lot off Cass.
“We always tell Caroline (Madden) and Rilee (Hasegawa) that they need to combine for 10 or 12 points for us, too. When we put everything together, we’re a pretty good team.”
That was on display at Morton. Geneva lost to Fremd in the tournament championship game last season and also in the second game of this season.
“I didn’t think I had them ready for the physicality they were going to bring,” Meadows said of Fremd.
But Geneva, the winners of seven straight games heading into 2023, finally figured out Fremd this time.
“The difference was our defense,” Palmer said. “We ramped up our defense in the second half. We tried to shut down their best players. That led to the win.
“It gives us a ton of confidence. It gives us a lot of momentum for the second half. We’re ready to keep rolling.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.