The boys’ varsity basketball team was working long before the games started, with an extensive regiment to prepare for the season.
“Our goals are always to compete as hard as possible and give us a chance to win every game we play. Besides that, we try to provide our guys a platform for whatever they want to do in the future by helping them understand what it takes to be a good person,” Coach Gregg Bayer said.
Basketball is a team sport, with each athlete looking to help the team succeed.
“My goal is for us to win the conference championship. It’s something that I believe we can achieve,” Noah Sampson, senior, said.
To do that, they will need to overcome tough competition.
“My hope is that we are able to beat Romeoville. People are saying that they are going to be the conference champions, and I want to prove them wrong,” Matthews Morganfield, senior, said.
“I really want to beat Romeoville, they are the favorite to win the conference champion,” Sampson said.
However, Bayer feels that along with goals, basketball is all about the moment; there is a need to focus on the present.
“In basketball it’s about winning the day and worrying about tomorrow when we get there. Sometimes we get too caught up about looking ahead,” Bayer said. “Our goal is to stay in the present, to win the moment, win the day, and win each position.”
Sometimes team camaraderie is built with a look to the past. As a senior, Terry Jackson has made many memories on the basketball team.
“Two years ago we got to play a game at the United Center, and it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Definitely will be something I will remember for a long time,” Jackson said.
The coaches also have fond memories. Bayer has been a basketball coach for 11, years and he finds it meaningful.
“This is my 11th year overall. When I student taught at Plainfield South I was an assistant sophomore coach there. I started here in 2008. I was a freshman coach and now I’m the varsity coach. I enjoyed playing the game as a young kid ever since my dad introduced me to it, I’ve been playing and I’ve been around it. It’s always been a part of my life, and I absolutely love it,” Bayer said.
Their next game is tonight at Plainfield South at 6:30p.m.