Winter season brings a blizzard of sports

Abby+Brown+palms+a+basketball+during+practice+in+the+gym

Abby Brown palms a basketball at shootaround before practice.

The swish of the net, the buzzer of the wrestling match ending, the splash of divers and swimmers getting into the water. The 2019-2020 winter season is coming up and teams are setting goals to live up to for their upcoming season.

Boys Wrestling 

The boys wrestling team season is coming up. Many of their goals are team-oriented. Overall, the main goal for Coach Miceli, head wrestling coach, is to “win 25 dual meets this year.”

“We want to win state, and we want to be victorious and become a team that is together, and work on many things to make us a better team,” Ben Halley (11) said.

Miceli also weighed in on what the players eat and how they diet for the upcoming matches.

“Staying fueled and hydrated is a very important part of wrestling. Eating green [is important] so the players can peak at the right time,” Miceli said.

Along with dieting, wrestlers also prepare for their matches with music.

“I love rap music; it hypes me up,” Halley said. “Many artists [like] YBN Corde and Meek Mill just get me in the zone.”.  

Fan attendance has been growing in numbers for the home matches, according to Miceli.

“The wrestling room is smaller and it is confined and it’s kind of loud,” Miceli said.  “It gets the crowds going.”

Girls Basketball 

Making sure there are no differences between genders is an important part of sports for Lauren Shores.

“I’m really proud to be a female athlete, and I think that the program is good at making sure there are no gender barriers,” Shores (12) said.

Shores looks up to her favorite player, Kevin Durant.

“I think he is a really humble basketball player and I try to emulate that when I play,” Shores (12) said. 

Making sure to eat the right food before games is important for basketball players because there is a lot of cardio activities.

“I will have fruit and eggs for breakfast, and a quick snack before games,” Shores (12) said.

Coach Brettner looks for consistent effort and attitude in his players.

“Effort plays a key part in basketball since there is so much going on at once,” Brettner said.

Boys Swimming and diving 

The boys swimming and diving team has a sizable amount of members, with 67 athletes making up the team. Despite this, the main focus for this team is inclusion.

“While [67] is a very large number… I’m going to value every player on the team, and make everyone feel like they have a job,” Head Coach Pardun said.

With such a large team,  making sure every player feels valued is a very important part of having a cohesive unit. 

“Me and the other seniors have to make sure that the team is ready to go, and make sure that the players feel valued, and the leaders of the team have to make sure there is not negativity going on at all in and outside the locker room,” Caleb Smith (12) said. 

To show how very important it is to keep the team together, the swimmers live by a motto of, “we before me.”

Coach Pardun is excited to have a group of seniors that the underclassmen can look up to.

“The seniors have the most experience out of anybody so they are always being watched by the underclassmen whether they realize it or not,” Pardun said.