Friday night, the boys basketball team started off their season with a win against the Frisco Lebanon Trail Trail Blazers. The team beat the Trail Blazers with a score of 73-49. 

“For the season opener, I thought the boys played well,” head coach Kyle Herrema said. “We set the tone defensively with our effort and we dominated the glass.”

The team has practiced every day of the week along with Saturday practices in preparation for their season. 

“We have focused all preseason on making sure we play as a team and are more physical than our opponents,” senior Dawson Holt said.

In practices, the team has worked on bringing physicality and effort to how they play. They have specifically focused on their defense and mentality to prepare for the season. 

“We have been giving out great effort in our early practices and working hard,” senior Mitchell Weaver said. “We are working to be more physical to prepare for our future opponents who are going to be more challenging teams.”

The team’s next game is on Tuesday Nov. 17 against Mesquite Poteet, and they are watching film to see what their competition will look like. The team is working towards achieving their goal of being district champions this year.

“This season, as a team, we are trying to win a district championship and make a run in the playoffs against some of the state’s best teams,” Holt said. “We’re going to continue working at getting more and more physical as a team and make sure we stay fundamentally strong.”

The team and the coaches are focusing on having a strong mentality going into the seasons and throughout the whole season. This is their goal for each game and practice. 

“Our biggest goal is just having a tough mindset,” Herrema said. “We want to be the most mentally tough team on the floor each night.”