Prep Basketball: It's a family affair for the Mercer County girls basketball team

HARRODSBURG — Players on every team — or at least every good team — say they’re a family, but such pronouncements have a different ring among the Mercer County girls.

The Mercer County girls roster is all wrapped up in family ties, with four players and two coaches connected through a series of relationships.

Senior guard Carli Souder, sophomore guard Catheryne Claunch, seventh-grader guard Seygan Robins and seventh-grade forward Emmy Souder are part of a group of cousins, though they aren’t all related to each other. And Souder and Claunch are playing under their fathers, head coach Chris Souder and his brother-in-law, assistant coach Todd Claunch.

It’s a family within a family, and the girls say they believe they’re closer to each other because of basketball than they might have been otherwise.

“We’ve always been cousins, obviously, and now we’re teammates and good friends,” Carli Souder said. “It’s not like we’re just cousins, it’s more than that.”

There are three sets of first cousins among the four girls:

n Carli Souder and Catheryne Claunch.

n Carli Souder and Emmy Souder, the daughter of Chris Souder’s brother Greg.

n Catheryne Claunch and Seygan Robins, the daughter of Todd Claunch’s sister Marta.

The strongest bond might be between Carli Souder and Catheryne Claunch, who have shared the floor for the past three seasons.

“I think it’s a lot better than most people’s bond on the team, because where we’re cousins we can tell each other stuff and yell and not take it personal. We know we’re just trying to help each other out,” Claunch said.

Only one of the two girls will be on the floor Tuesday when Mercer faces West Jessamine in a 46th District Tournament semifinal, as a dislocated elbow is expected to keep Carli Souder out of action until next week’s regional tourney.

Their first shared experience in Mercer basketball came years ago, as the two were water girls for the 2003 Mercer team that reached the Girls Sweet Sixteen. Carli Souder was in the third grade, Catheryne Claunch was in the first grade, and Catheryne’s older sister, Chrystal, was on the team.

Chris Souder said his daughter has been at his side on the bench since age 3 or 4, and he said that’s going to make it tough on him once this season ends.

“She was the water girl, she was with me all the time, and she’s going to go off to college and there’s going to be a void there,” he said. “It’ll hurt me more than it will her, but there’s great memories there.”

Todd Claunch, who has coached at King Middle School for several years and joined the high school staff in 2003 in time for his oldest daughter’s last three seasons, said he’s making memories, too.

“Everything from some of the stuff that happens in practice that we talk about, we laugh more than we’re upset just at everything that happens, but some day it’ll all be over, and to have that time and be a part of it (is special),” he said.

It isn’t always easy, though.

“It’s difficult when it comes time to really lay it to them and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to improve here, here and here,’ and probably more difficult from their standpoint, I would imagine,” Todd Claunch said.

“There’s been times that he’s had to say things to Carli when I’ve been too rough, or vice versa. I’ve been able to help Catheryne, because sometimes it comes better from the uncle than it does the dad,” Chris Souder said.

Carli Souder said there is no familial friction between the girls.

“I don’t really think we have to worry about that too much. We’re all pretty close, and we all understand how things can get (heated) in practice, we can get upset and stuff, but it doesn’t have anything to do with our family. It doesn’t cause any problems,” she said.

As the head coach, Chris Souder is usually the one raising his voice when the situation calls for it, but he said he has learned to make sure that he doesn’t continue coaching his daughter once they leave the gym.

“In middle school I could see I was making a mistake, because I would watch the games and then we would go home and I’m on her and talking about it too much ... so I just decided that once we leave the gym, that we’re done with basketball unless she wants to talk about it,” he said.

Carli Souder said her uncle’s role on the bench is important, too.

“It just seems like he notices little things that my dad may not see because he’s looking at the game as a whole. He sees little things, and he may tell us during a timeout,” she said of Todd Claunch.

Catheryne Claunch did a little coaching earlier this season when she missed eight games with a knee injury and Seygan Robins filled in as the starting point guard.
“I knew as a seventh-grader she was going to be nervous; she’s already fully energized all the time. So Coach asked me to help her out a little bit and tell her things that she could do and how she could take it to the basket,” Catheryne Claunch said.

Seygan Robins and Emmy Souder, who is playing on the freshman team, said they’re thrilled to get to practice and play alongside their cousins.

“We played together in the seventh grade, and now to get to play with our two older cousins, it’s just even better,” Robins said.

“They’ve definitely been a role model to me,” Emmy Souder added.

There are other family connections as well. Carmen Souder — Chris’ wife, Carli’s mother and Todd Claunch’s sister — is the team’s scorekeeper. Marta Robins also coaches at the middle school level, and Greg Souder is the public address announcer at Mercer home games.

But there are no more related players on the way any time soon. The only remaining candidate in this generation is Todd Claunch’s daughter Emma, who is only 4 years old.

“I think we’re it,” Seygan Robins said.

District Tournament Glance
BOYS
45th DISTRICT
At Boyle County
Monday, Feb. 18
Garrard County vs. Kentucky School for the Deaf, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Boyle County vs. Garrard County-Kentucky School for the Deaf winner, 7:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Danville vs. Lincoln County, 7:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 22
Championship, 7:45 p.m.

46th DISTRICT
At East Jessamine
Monday, Feb. 18
West Jessamine vs. Burgin, 6 p.m.
East Jessamine vs. Mercer County, 7:45 p.m.
Thurdsay, Feb. 21
Championship, 7 p.m.

47th DISTRICT
At Somerset
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Pulaski County vs. Casey County, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Somerset vs. Rockcastle County, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 22
Championship, 7 p.m.

GIRLS
45th DISTRICT
At Boyle County
Monday, Feb. 18
Garrard County vs. Kentucky School for the Deaf, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Lincoln County vs. Garrard County-Kentucky School for the Deaf winner, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Danville vs. Boyle County, 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 22
Championship, 6 p.m.

46th DISTRICT
At East Jessamine
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Mercer County vs. West Jessamine, 6 p.m.
East Jessamine vs. Burgin, 7:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 22
Championship, 7 p.m.

47th DISTRICT
At Somerset
Thursday, Feb. 21
Casey County vs. Pulaski County, 6:30 p.m.
Rockcastle County vs. Somerset, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 23
Championship, 7 p.m.