Although the boys’ basketball team just started its season, the athletes worked hard during preseason workouts to improve their skills.
During the off-season, the boys are allowed to come to the high school gym and practice with their coaches and other teammates. The boys have been conditioning since the beginning of October.
According to Coach Greg Cercone, the team met twice a week in October and three times a week in November. The reason behind the early conditioning is “trying to teach them the skills and techniques and working with the players on offensive and defensive,” Cercone said.
The boys are due to have a scrimmage on Nov. 30 against Western Beaver. They start out their season with a tipoff tournament at the very beginning of December against South Side. This tournament gives the boys a chance to play teams out of their section.
“I think that we will be able to compete just fine with the other teams; it will really show us how we can improve as a team and what areas we need to work on,” Senior Matt Feits said.
When the season started on Nov. 18, the practices jumped to six days a week, excluding game days. The team shares the gym with the girls’ basketball team, so on a yearly basis they have to come to an agreement on practice time.
The team has some new players this year, and according to Feits, “the majority of the team are underclassmen.” He also believes that they are “more than capable of having a successful team.”
Like Feits, Cercone has high hopes for this season. “My one goal for this team and season is to make the playoffs,” Cercone said. When it comes to the seniors, Cercone’s advice is to “play as hard as [they] can.”
All of the boys have personal goals to accomplish this season, and Senior Andrew Teny is one of them. His goal is to improve this season. “I plan on doing harder workouts once I’m tired of doing the [regular] workout. I tell myself to do more and end [practice] on a good note,” Teny said.
Overall, the team wants to improve by “pushing each other to our best abilities possible,” Teny said.