09 Mar High School Boys Basketball Season Review
by Joshua W., 12th Grade
True effort translates into real success. A competitor ought never be able to win on skill alone. Each sport, in order to succeed, ought to require effort. No pain, no gain, right? That’s how the greatest players really shine. Basketball is exactly that. ‘Nothing’ comes as the result of ‘no effort.’ And let me begin by telling you, “This year was different.” The men’s basketball team hasn’t always been the greatest and most glorified of SSA’s high school sports. The first year basketball debuted, the men’s basketball team was numbered 7 – not much of a team. Not only that, they lost every single game out of the 16 they played. Statistically, you’d think they’d win at least one, but no. In the second year of the program, the team gained one more player and scored the first 2 wins in SSA history.
Now I said this third year was different. And it most certainly was. The SSA men’s basketball team this year gained 4 more players (making a 12 person bench) and had the greatest streak of success the programs ever seen with eight wins throughout the entire season. Why is that? There is certainly something that can be said for the more experienced players, but more important was their team spirit. As a brother to one of the players I’ve seen how much dedication each player puts into the sport. Every morning of the week, the team was hitting the court. Passing, dribbling, conditioning, shooting, and more – all at 5:30 in the morning, right before school! And not only that, when the team wasn’t practicing, or playing a game, they were reviewing and studying their plays, constantly asking, “How can we get better?” When you ask me what I would say characterizes this team, I would say it would be their effort. The more effort a team can apply collectively, the more successful they are going to be. I hope to more success in the future! Go Archers!