Winter came on like a fast break and means we're that much closer to everything that the hardwood will include! Every season has it's own flavor but with new additions to the local scene & significant turnover from last year to this one the 2022/2023 season will be a ride all it's own.
In preparation for the first games this edition comes courtesy of coach Kyle Cummings talking about the first season of Horace Hawks hoops.
Before looking ahead, what have been the best memories from the last few years as you have laid the foundation for this season & beyond? "Some of our best memories on the court would be winning the 9th grade tournament in our first year as a program, taking 2nd place in the sophomore team tournament in our second year as a program, competing in close games, and winning the first ever game held on our new court at Horace High School. Off the court, our best memories include some team bonding activities we’ve done, such as crossfit workouts, secret santa gift exchanges, and going as a team to the EDC tournament at the SHAC to show our players what our goals for the future are."
Did your team participate in any camps this past Summer? If so, how did your team benefit from that? Did any players surprise you with what they showed during the workouts?
We went to team camps this summer at Jamestown, Valley City, Moorhead HS breakdown tournament and Mayville State. The most beneficial part of the team camps was playing against juniors and seniors that have been in the weight room. This season we anticipate playing a lot of under classmen and it was a good experience for them to go up against different levels of physicality and athleticism. This summer we had great attendance for our summer weight program, as well as our off-season skill work. It was beneficial to have a lot of our players go through “shared suffering” and bring them closer together.
Have you already had players in the gym working on their game this Fall?
This fall we’ve had open gyms once a week, and strength training after school everyday. The majority of our GBB players were playing volleyball this fall so our numbers for our fall workouts were very low. We had some underclassmen step up in the weight room this fall and make some really impressive gains. It will be exciting to see how our upperclassmen and underclassmen gel together this winter.
Jaiden Haile, Keelie Sunde, Lilia Donnelly, Lakyn Donnelly & Noelle Bartunek are among those who have been identified as top players in the region, how have you seen them improve? How might they continue to progress? What is it like to already have so much young talent getting college attention?
"The most improvement I’ve seen has been with their athleticism and strength through time in the weight room. This group is also filled with gym rats and go to other trainings or skill trainers to improve their skill set. As for the college recruiting, I’m very happy for the girls receiving that attention, but they still have a lot to prove since they are so young. It will be interesting to see how their recruiting progresses through the years. I look forward to building relationships with the different college programs when they reach out to ask about players."
Who are some of the players you anticipate will compliment the top players? What do they bring to the roster?
"Talented players that will be in the rotation, or even competing for starting spots, are Megan Hjelmstad, Kelby Christofferson, Jordan Christofferson and Ava Wittrock. These players are just as talented and will compete with the other “top” players mentioned for spots and playing time. Nothing is ever guaranteed, we want to promote competition, praise players doing the right things and reward the ones that are earning their spots. I can see us mixing up our starters and rotations a number of times this year depending on who comes to practice ready to compete and be a good teammate."
Is there a certain aspect of the game that you think will be the strength of your team?
"Defending in the 1/2 court, playing in transition and executing our offense in the 1/2 court are all things we will focus on this year." "One thing we want to have pride in is our team communication and energy."
To boil it down, what would make the upcoming season a successful one?
Besides the win/loss column, we want to grow closer together as a team and establish a competitive culture for years to come.
There's been a lot of talk about the proposed three-class division. Do you have a comment about that?
We are in support of the three class system. Our AD wrote a letter of support on our behalf.
Is there anything else you would like people to know about your program or players?
In our 2021-2022 JV season we competed in 4 varsity games against class B schools, going 3-1.
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