By Marcos Perales | Big Stick Editor |
This season is historically different, and we all know why. The team has had the challenge of going through with their basketball practices and games in a much more distanced way, and thus far holds a record of 4-11, with 3-4 being within the district. What is interesting, though, is that the Rough Riders have a chance to earn themselves a spot in the playoffs by playing in a tournament at the end of the regular season, one of the unexpected perks of this pandemic.
It’s a big change from last year, when they were able to finish with a record of 27-8 as the second seed; 12-2 was their record within the district. They were able to do this with a team that had 8 seniors who have already gone and graduated. This year, 5 new faces have made themselves available to compete alongside those players who have experience playing in a Rough Rider uniform.
The biggest thing that the sports community has in mind is the safety of one another during these times, especially the players.
“With it being a contact sport, necessary sanitation must be constant in order to prevent the s
pread,” coach Manuel Flores said. “We have also postponed any/all fundraising events which has really hurt the everyday operation of our running program.”
Momentum has been seen as one of the most important things time and time again if a team wishes to be successful. District wide, when cases started going up, the district put its basketball season on hold for more than three weeks starting the last week before winter break.
“I feel like this pandemic has affected me before the season and a little during, but once we started to work out and get back into shape all the laziness went away once the season progressed,” sophomore Kevon Hyson said.
Between the whole season break and individual quarantines, momentum is definitely disrupted.
“When a student-athlete has to quarantine, it disrupts the entire team. This results in a lot of uncertainty for daily operations,” coach Flores said. “The kids are also eager to play but very cautious about catching the virus.”
“A lot of zoom classes were held earlier in the year and it’s difficult to teach a sport over zoom. Practice times are limited and there is more conversation than actual play, coach Flores said.”
Despite these circumstances, the boys basketball team is focused on finishing their season as strong as they can to get ready for what is ahead of them.
“I feel like we had a tough schedule this regular season, but I’m glad we have the chance to compete to get into the playoffs,” Hyson said. “ I just lock in and try to work my hardest everyday and get better and not cheat myself.”
The team will face Reagan on Wednesday, Feb. 3 for their final regular season game before they play their tournament game for a playoff spot on Saturday.
