By: Cali McPeak & Leila Evans
Our boys’ basketball team has had an amazing start to the season with a record of 11-3. With hard work and dedication, this is the team’s best season in a very long time. Coached by Matt Dillon, Zedekiah Pollock, Nick Dillon, and Douglas Craver, we have a very young team with only two seniors and two juniors. Our starters are senior Joe Sharish, junior Cohen Richardson, and sophomores Caden Dillon, Bradley Dillon, and Devyn Miller. “We lack size, so a big challenge we have is rebounding,” stated Coach M. Dillon.
A key part of our team’s success is the close bonds between our players and coaching staff. The coaches allow a safe space for the boys to have open communication. Having mutual respect helps athletes to develop confidence and allows them to trust each other. Having a good relationship with your coaches can help motivate them and improve their performance. The boys put in hard work even in the off-season; they are going ham in the gym and outside the gym. Junior Cohen Richardson states, “In the offseason, we do a lot of shooting at the gym on the machine, we go to camps and have summer league”. This extra training not only helps develop their skills for basketball, but it also brings the boys together and helps them execute in-game.
Some standout wins were against Salem (75-43), Rootstown (65-53), and Labrae (70-59). Labrae was an especially meaningful win because they won our conference last year. Hard work and dedication have paid off for our boys with a winning record of 11-3. With the support from our student section, our games have had higher intensity and exciting memories.
The Pirate Post 