Varsity Boys ready for basketball season
With try-outs finished on October 17th, this year’s Varsity Boys Basketball Team has been assembled. With their first game on November 13th, the new team is excited and is currently working hard for the upcoming season. “Our team is looking forward to clinch[ing] the first place title in Shanghai,” declared Ken Kim (11B) enthusiastically. “I believe that this is one of the best teams the school has ever seen.”
Although 10 players graduated last year, the team does not plan on letting the loss of players affect their season. As Stephanie Chen (12B), the manager of the team, stated, “[I hope to see] the tradition of the SMIC basketball spirit continued in the players of the current year. The new players are very spirited and have faith in themselves so I’m excited to see how they grow this season.” Elvin Kim (11C), a player of the team, also commented, “This [year’s] team has chemistry different from [the] last two years and it’s going to be a fun year.” Coach Tim Cook is also excited for the new team, since they “get to build a new basketball culture as well as new goals and expectations.”
In addition to working together as a team, each individual player is also striving to reach their personal goals. “I mainly want to focus on my fundamental skills and understanding the plays,” Jay Jung (12A) commented. On the other hand, Ken stated, “I am going to focus on improving my stamina this season. [I hope to] contribute to the team in its journey for the 1st place title as an ‘unsung hero’.” Some players are also focusing on training skills for the upcoming years. “[I] just [want to] focus on doing things right and developing skills and bond[s] for next year, too,” Elvin expressed.
The basketball season is not only about the games – it is a period of coming together as a community as well. Because of this, Stephanie said she is “planning on helping the team however I can, including advertising the games so the SMIC community can come and support our teams during home games and even away games.” It is at these games when the SMIC community can demonstrate their love for the team and the sport (since they do represent the school). “I’m very excited about seeing the audience come support the teams at home games and [help] the general atmosphere at the games,” Stephanie said.
Despite having a lot of new members in the team, the Boys Varsity Basketball Team is not discouraged and is working as hard as possible to reach their goals. The basketball team is not the only player in the game – it is crucial that the school community is there to have their backs, so stop by at their games to show your encouragement whenever you can!
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Chen