This season has an extra special meaning to the Pojoaque Elkettes girls basketball team. Before every game, the team wears warm-up sweatshirts that say “never forgotten” on the back in memory of the late coach Kim Martinez.
Martinez, an assistant coach for the girls basketball team, died of COVID-19 in January at the age of 39.
“She’s our sixth man right now,” head coach Randy Martinez said of Kim Martinez. “She’s watching over us. She’s taking care of us. She’s making sure that everything goes good. I believe that later on down the road, the progress that she had put in to these kids is going to come out.”
Jamie Crowe, the lone senior on the team, helped put the sweatshirts together.
“Coach Kim made our family complete,” said freshman Marisa Martinez. “It’s really hard without her here. She played a big role on our team, and everyone’s doing this for her.”
Team coach Seledon Martinez opted out of this season due to COVID-19 worries with his family. His son, Randy, stepped up as head coach for this year, though Seledon has been able to be around the team for some practices this season.
“I feel that I’m coming along well,” Randy Martinez said. “But, I sure am glad that I have him, and all my family’s support that’s here helping us.”
Seledon Martinez said before the season that Kim Martinez excelled as a mentor for girls she coached, but also stressed accountability and being respectful of the rules.
“They knew they could go to her if they had a problem,” he previously said. “And she wouldn’t steer them wrong. She’d lead them in the right direction.”
He compared her to Radar O’Reilly from the television show M*A*S*H, saying by the time he needed something she would already have it done.
“I miss her every game,” Randy Martinez said. “She was my backbone for the games.”
He said that she would do the team’s rotations and set matchups, and said doing that has been especially difficult.
The Elkettes have struggled some on the court this year, but are leaning on their youth to build for the future.
“We have to keep building, keep moving forward,” Randy Martinez said. “We’re a young team.”
The Elkettes have only one senior on the roster. Last year’s team made the state quarterfinals as the No. 5 seed with a 22-9 overall record, but the team lost all-state guard Michaela Martinez, who now plays for New Mexico Highlands University. Star seniors including Ashten Martinez and Alicia Sanchez also graduated, and other key contributors from last year’s team opted out of this season.
Randy Martinez said that Crowe has stepped up as a strong leader, and that this season means a lot to her. Kaylee Martinez, Kim’s daughter, is also a member of the team, but has missed most of the year with an injury.
The Elkettes next play at home against Taos on April 21, and then at Moriarty Friday.
“Look out for our freshmen,” Randy Martinez said. “Once they get the real feel, and they’re ready to roll. It’s going to be interesting in a couple years. I think we’re going to get back to where we were at, or maybe even climb up a little bit higher.”