It’s almost that time of year again! Basketball tryouts are just three days away for the girl’s team and four days away for the boy’s team. Many of our students will have the chance to be a part of the 2017-2018 roster. Just because they tryout doesn’t mean they will get a spot on the team, many of these student-athletes are going above and beyond to secure the position they deserve this year.

Taryn Criblez, sophomore girls basketball player, said, “I’m preparing for this season by making sure I practice at home and come to the workouts. I feel that this season will go good based on the people that came to the workouts this summer.”

Many players believe that the workouts help make them a better unit. Kendra Mackey, a junior girls basketball player, said, “I’m working with other [experienced] players to focus on our strength, as well as our conditioning and communication on the court. This season, as one of the captains, I really have to lead by example. I feel this year will be an adjustment year. We lost seven of ten varsity players [from graduation] so we will have a new round of girls to work with.”

For a high school senior, this is the last shot at getting a spot on the basketball team. Trinity McCoy, a senior basketball player, said, “I’m getting ready for the tryouts by attending the workouts to make sure I’m in proper shape. I know this season will be rough due to the amount of people we lost and we have a lot of underclassmen who will have to step up and make sure we fill those spots. As a senior, it means that I will have to try my hardest to help lead the team and make sure everyone is doing everything right, but also helping the team come together as a whole. Those are my goals as a senior and a leader.”

The coach has the job of making sure that they pick the right people for the team and other players. Girls basketball head coach, Michael Fernandez said, “Well, we are really young, more than half our team are underclassmen, but our seniors will help us make a good team. They won’t have to take the game upon themselves; this year we will be more balanced in scoring. It’s hard to say how the season will turn out, but I can say we will be entertaining and a fun team to watch.”

The girls team will have tryouts starting on October 30. The boys also have tryouts soon, starting on October 31, but they have other ways of getting ready for tryouts. Freshman Cachao Gianquinto said, “I’ve just been going to Breakthrough Sports Performance to get stronger because the competition will be more physical. I don’t think of myself as the youngest, I just consider myself a part of the team and I feel we will have a good season”.

An all district basketball player has a lot of pressure to make the team again this year. Senior Jarel Hyler said, “I just have been making sure I get my shots up all summer, and I feel we will have a good season.”

The biggest task is to be a leader, on and off the court. Senior Trae Meny, senior basketball player and son of head coach Brian Meny said, “I’m making sure I go 100% on every play I do. Knowing that there are lots of younger players, you just have to be positive with them and help them through the rolling phase. I got to make sure I keep myself accountable and not take plays off. This season I really want to get back to the District Championship.”

It’s hard for a coach to cut players, but it’s easy to find the players he needs for the team, Coach Meny said, “We are going to be very competitive this year. We will try to be better than last year; last season Jarel Hyler and Trae Meny were All Districts, so we look on them to be leaders this year and I feel we will have a good season.”

Check out the basketball teams in action for their first home games. The Varsity Lady Spartans will compete against Timberland on Friday, December 8 and the boys team will take on Missouri Military Academy on Tuesday, December 5.