By Valencia Campbell, staff writer
Basketball season is finally upon us. The Indian Trail boys varsity team is putting in a lot of work to jump-start their season. It takes hard work and dedication to be a part of a team. Most teams are so close that players become one big family.
Connor Sheehan, an Indian Trail senior, said he is looking forward to being able to play with his basketball family again this winter.
Sometimes the team will go through tough losses, but they will also experience some awesome wins. Last year, a lot of the students supported the team by going to the games.
Coach Craig Mertes said he was looking forward to keeping up the excitement, since a lot of students started to support the players at the games last year. “We hope to keep up the excitement that the program had last year,” Mertes said.
The team as a whole has the same goal, which is to win, but individuals also have personal goals this season.
“A personal goal is to become a state champion,” said Josh Washburn, an Indian Trail senior.
“ I don’t really have a goal for myself besides try and hopefully help win the conference and state. A lot of the players are willing to work hard to overcome some of the challenges they might face,” said Sheehan.
“Playing as one and be able to keep things rolling smooth but I feel like we can meet every challenge,” said Davion Nixon, an Indian Trail junior.
Last year the varsity boys had a very successful season. The boys were only one game away from the state tournament, Mertes said. Hopefully this year the boys can contribute to the loss of a few seniors who graduated already, he said.
It might be a challenge for them to make up those extra points, Coach Mertes said.
“It would be hard to replace some of the seniors from last year, but we have a lot of experience coming back and the leadership that comes with them,” he said. Players feel this year will be a strong year because they still have talented players left.
“I think we will be a solid team this year with the returning players and upcoming varsity players,” Sheehan said.
If the boys play together and work together, they can do very well. The guys would like to see the student body support them at every game, Mertes said.