By Kiara Doyal,The Seattle Medium
Just weeks after the dismissal of longtime head coach Roydell Smiley, the Garfield High School girls basketball program found itself in transition. With new head coach James Johnson stepping into leadership of one of the area’s most historic girls basketball programs, junior E Romance has emerged as the steady presence guiding both her teammates and her new coach through a season of rebuilding.
Despite the turmoil, Romance has embraced the uncertainty that followed the coaching change, approaching the year as an opportunity for growth on and off the court. As the roster shifted and expectations reset, she stepped into a larger leadership role, helping anchor a team navigating change.
“This season has been a lot. I have had to do a lot of adjusting, but I feel like I am making the best out of the situation,” said Romance. “It has been an opportunity for me to take on more of a leadership role, and I have been doing a pretty good job at it. But it has mainly helped me learn a lot about how to adjust.”
For Johnson, the transition into the spotlight at Garfield was much easier due to the presence of Romance.
“What she has done for me has been amazing,” said Johnson. “With holding our team meetings, introducing me to parents and faculty, she has been amazing and has made it such an easier transition for me with her here.”
Adjusting to a new head coach midway through a high school career can unsettle even the most experienced athletes. For Romance, the change became a catalyst. Rather than resist it, she leaned into the opportunity to help define the team’s new identity under Johnson’s leadership.
“Above all, I like how he believes in me and my ability and lets me take control,” said Romance. “He trusts me. I have experience with other coaches that I wasn’t trusted, so then I felt like I didn’t trust myself and it has been really good that he has been able to put that in me and give me the environment to really show what I can do.”
Johnson said Romance’s leadership has extended far beyond her individual performance, calling her the emotional and competitive backbone of the program during a pivotal season.
“She is the first one in the gym, and the last one to leave. She is constantly helping players who are having troubles,” said Johnson. “In my 30 years of coaching, I couldn’t even begin to tell you how great it is to have her on my team.”
“The pressure that was on her from the beginning and how she took that as a way to work even harder, while helping her teammates, has shown that she has matured so much throughout the season,” Johnson continued.
While several former players left the school following Smiley’s dismissal, Romance chose to remain at Garfield, citing her connection to the school’s culture and environment. Her decision provided stability at a time when the program needed it most.
“I love this school and the culture. For one, I pretty much grew up here, and I have a teammate here with me where we both were like we are going to ride it out together,” Romance said. “We are the only ones who stayed, so I took it as an opportunity for myself to really show what I could do without any limitations, because last year I wasn’t starting or getting a lot of playing time.”
Romance says that she went through a stretch last year where she felt she wasn’t performing to her full potential. Now, she says she has reached the place she hoped to be, both physically and mentally, and is thrilled with the progress she has made.
“I was really out of shape, and it was really bad,” said Romance. “But this year I lost a lot of weight and I gained so much confidence in myself. Last year I was battling with a lot of mental health issues, and now I am glad that I am healed mentally and physically and I have been able to reflect that in the stat book.”
“My consistency and confidence are at an all-time high. I am always holding myself to a high standard and just remaining consistent in the progress that I am making,” Romance continued.
Although she still has one year remaining at Garfield, Romance said she is uncertain about the future direction of the girls basketball program. At the same time, she has begun thinking more seriously about her own future and where she hopes life will take her after graduation.
“I honestly don’t know [what the future holds for the team],” said Romance. “We only have one senior graduating, and I don’t know if we have anyone coming up, so it is a pretty small team. But that is fine because we are small now. But when I graduate, I hope to receive an offer to a HBCU and pursue my basketball career from there and maybe go overseas.”
