Recently I had the opportunity to talk with the boys’ and girls’ basketball team coach and athletic director. Jordan Barnes is the boy’s coach and Gary Larson is the athletic director, I talked to both about their take on how and what is going on with the team and season with the pandemic going on. Some of the challenges both teams are going through are lack of practice time, communication, schedules, and more. 

For the boys’ basketball team, the coach and teams are taking it day by day, communicating via morning chats. Coach Barnes is trying to keep their spirits high by doing the best he and the team can. The season is going to be different for sure. But if they can have a season with new guidelines what would be different? Coach Barnes responded saying that “they aren’t going to have many games and there’s a high chance there won’t be a state tournament, we are doing the best we can and for me I just want the Seniors to play because they will be missing out.” They will have a short season and will not have enough time to prepare because the coach and the team have not been in the gym for about a year now. Coach Barnes and other staff are making sure that the kids stay healthy because if one kid gets sick it will potentially hurt the entire season. Coach Barnes has been doing webinars online and checking in on their health. Players have been doing many activities like open court, weightlifting and individual practice, but unfortunately it is different from going to the gym. The biggest challenge the team faces though is struggling to practice, and playing games with also practice time, and obviously the challenge of having to schedule with the other teams. Another struggle is the potential of sports running into each other coach Barnes said. 

Some players to look for on the boys’ team are Jordan and Brandon McCray. They are 4 year returning Varsity players. There is also Larry Glover and a lot of undergraduates that are waiting for the opportunity to play Varsity, including Zion Hosow and Malachi Keller. 

For the Girls Basketball team, the team is also going through struggles. It has been difficult for the team to plan and schedules are all over the place. The biggest impact for them so far is that athletes did not have any real contact with the coaches, or any real means to train and prepare for the upcoming season Larsen said. Other challenges were the conditioning with the shut down, and not having gym’s or health clubs open, kids avoiding injury and the kids getting in shape. When it comes for the time to play, he hopes that everyone follows the rules so there will not be any advantages or disadvantages.  Mr. Larson mentioned that coaches may have never even met some of their players because they are not allowed on campus. It is also stressing and difficult to prepare for the season because of the dates that being pushed back for practice. But he does feel that he and the coaches have prepared so once they get the green light so they can practice.  The biggest challenges the girls team faces, like the boys are the many date pushbacks. Its already basketball season, but instead they are going to start in February so that pushes football back to March and baseball, softball and more to June. Also bus schedules and making sure the fields are going to be there and other restrictions to how many people can be in the gym and games will be more obstacles.  

Both boys and girls teams have similar, if not the same struggles because of this pandemic. They are all trying their best at home to cope with having no season to play, especially the Seniors since it is their last year. We all hope there will not be any more postponing for practices and for them to finally get into the season. I would like to thank Coach Barnes and Mr Larson for all the work they put into so they can keep the teams healthy and intact.