Shooting into Season

With this year’s basketball season starting up soon here are some of the preparations that each of the teams are doing to prepare. The varsity basketball teams are starting their seasons off with weekly open gyms and after-school lifting. With only two returning starters on the girls varsity basketball team, the girls are doing everything to prepare themselves for their upcoming season. Senior Emilie Sorensen said, “We are doing a lot of open gyms, lifting, and team bondings.” As the girls are working hard to get everything into position for their season, the boys varsity team is doing the same. Junior Jai White said, “We are working out a lot in our off-season and putting in a lot of work as a team and putting up consistent shots daily.” 

Both basketball teams are looking toward a season of growth. The girls team has two returning starters from the 2023-24 season, and they are looking to add more depth to their bench. “We have more returning players that just weren’t starting last season that are ready to step up and play at the varsity level this year,” Sorensen said. The boys team is not struggling with the roster, but four of their starters who were seniors last season graduated, leaving the boys team with only one of their returning starters so it’s time to redefine the team’s identity. 

Practice doesn’t officially start until November 11th, so the team is building strength through workouts and getting to know one another. Lifting for both the girls and boys is a routine event throughout their season. The athletes have lifting opportunities before and after school and also scheduled liftings for certain days during the season. The teams are utilizing liftings to stay in shape and keep their muscles trained for the season. As for open gyms, the teams come together throughout the weeks of their off-seasons and get together to work on numerous things such as ball handling, shooting, defensive drills, and learning plays. 

As the teams move forward into the season and continue putting in continuous effort as a team they are hoping for a strong season and creating a goal to get to the state championship, which would be their first appearance since before the split. “A goal I have for the team is to put in a lot of effort and eventually make it to the state tournament,” Sorensen said. As for the boys, White said, “A goal that I have for the season is for us to have a good season and win the state championship.”