High school basketball: Regan Simpson gains confidence -- and doesn't sweat the small stuff -- for Wadsworth

Regan Simpson leads the Wadsworth girls basketball in scoring (12.7), rebounding (6.8) and field goal percentage (.507) while also shooting .429 on 3-pointers and .600 at the line. Even more impressive, though the senior won't play basketball once she moves on to study fashion at Iowa State or Kent State, she still leads the Grizzlies in hard work. "In the past she was very hard on herself and critical of her performance if things weren't going well," said Wadsworth coach Andrew Booth, whose ninth-seeded Grizzlies (16-7) will play No. 7 Medina (17-7) in a Medina Division I District semifinal tonight at 7:30 at Elyria Catholic. "She's way better at staying positive this year. "She plays with a lot of passion. We've had kids come through here that really cared about being a Lady Grizzly, and she's right up there. This being her last go-round, she's really invested. She's all in." A fourth-year varsity player with an admitted perfectionist streak, the 5-foot-10 Simpson, who plays center or power forward for the Grizzlies, began working with 2007 Wadsworth graduate Cassie Schrock two years ago. A role player with self-doubts for three seasons, she has blossomed into the team's best and most consistent player in 2021-22. Her physical work, which included 7 a.m. summer sessions with Schrock, has played a huge role, as has an improved mental outlook that is far less critical of any personal failures. "I was not as confident and comfortable the first three years as I am this year," Simpson said. "A lot of that comes from being a senior and having the most experience on the court. I've been in these situations for the last three years. "The most important thing is I worked really hard in the offseason. It made me so much more comfortable in my play. I'm enjoying it instead of having stress." Schrock, who led the Grizzlies to the 2006 D-I state tournament in Booth's first season as coach and went on to become an All-Mid-American Conference player at Eastern Michigan, has had a lot to do with that. "Training with Cassie has been the best experience I've ever had," Simpson said. "I love her so much. She really pushes you to be your best. She helped me fix my shot, most importantly. She re-taught me how to shoot. Growing up as a post, it was never really a priority, but this year I have to do more than I had been doing. "Training with Cassie is probably the best thing I've done in my basketball career. It's completely changed me as a player. She's always been there to support me. She just tells me to play how I know how to play." Schrock, a former head coach at Massillon who works with Simpson year-round, began by tearing down her protege's shot. From a low release point to a follow through where Simpson's arms actually crossed, it was not an easy endeavor, but having someone totally willing to listen and change sometimes made it seem that way. "Her release point was jacked up and her shot was downright ugly," Schrock said. "It needed changed altogether and she knew it, but you've got to give the credit to her. She knew it needed fixed and she was willing to change it. A lot of kids think they know it all. She was never that way. "The cool thing about Regan is she's still working super hard and she's not even going to play basketball in college. That's really remarkable, but she wants to do well for her team. It's not about her scoring 20 points. It's about helping the team win, representing the school and doing it for the city." Simpson, whose father Scott coached the Medina girls soccer team to the 1997 D-I state championship and mother Erin played on St. Vincent-St. Mary's 1993 D-III state-qualifying basketball team, has been around sports her entire life. Over time, the owner of a 4.3 grade-point average and 30 ACT score learned that being less hard on herself was a positive, not a negative. "Coach Booth and I just had another talk about that," Simpson said. "If I miss a shot or a free throw, I have to move on because I can't be the player I need to be for my team if I'm thinking about something that already happened." For three seasons that wasn't easy, especially when Simpson was a freshman. "I was getting thrown in there with no real experience," the 18-year-old said. "The district semis, playing in that as a freshman was so scary. It was such a big game and I wanted to do well for my team. It was a crazy experience." Schrock has had frequent talks with Simpson about that aspect of the game. Where Simpson once heard mostly the negative part of a statement, she now finds the positive. "She's a little bit of a perfectionist," Schrock said. "I got her to understand that if Booth tells her that was a bad shot, he didn't mean to never shoot again. But that's what she used to think. Now she understands that he means to get a better shot. "The team needs her to score. They have some young faces and inexperienced players. If she's not being aggressive, who else is going to do it? She doesn't get down on herself like she used to. She's always aggressive and she's always attacking and she's made a huge jump from her junior year to senior year. The credit goes to her. She's a really good kid." Simpson, whose physical strength allows her to score around the rim and whose much-improved form has made her the team's most dangerous 3-point threat, vows to continue to compete intensely — yet in a relaxed manner — for as long as Wadsworth's postseason lasts. "I'm trying to play as hard as I can, but I'm not thinking that this could be my last practice or last game," she said. "That's helping me, because I'm not overthinking it." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.