As fall sports wind down and winter season begins, boys and girls basketball has heated up. With the season’s arrival, old traditions and returning players this season along with new challenges and new memories arrive with it. 

This season, the boys varsity team have gone into the season with a plan, and fresh ideas on how to improve their game.

“One of the big things that we’re trying to do is really space out other teams and use advantages whether it’s drive in or posting up,” boys varsity assistant coach Travis Snowden said. “We’ll probably run more zone this year than we ran in the past. Offensively, it’s a lot of the same.”

Besides strategy changes like this, the boys have taken advantage of the natural skill the players have and trained it into talent. 

“We have such great perimeter players and interior players,” Snowden said. “Just on any given game, we’re trying to take advantage of those areas.”

The varsity boys team have put these strategies to good use with past home games, leading to a four-game win streak.

“We just beat Jesuit by ten,” sophomore Forward player Henry Beckett said. “That was a really memorable moment.”

As the boys continue to advance into the season, they must continue to grow closer to one another for a greater chance at District and maybe even a run for the playoffs.

“I think we’re our own biggest challenge. We’re in some cases, we’re our own enemies,” Snowden said. “But when we are playing Highland Park basketball, nobody can beat us.”

The boys this season not only want to win as much as they can but also get to know each other.

“I think it’s all about keeping our attitudes right and our chemistry good,” Beckett said. “We keep that good, nothing can stop us.”

The boys coaching staff has goals in mind as they teach these boys not only about basketball but about morals they will grow to use everyday. 

“I think that for everybody honestly, for them to get the lifelong lessons of battling through adversity,” Snowden said. “And they get to learn it in a safe place like basketball and have fun while doing it, but going through those hard times together.”

The Girls Varsity Season has also started alongside the boys, girl’s head coach Todd Monsey has several goals for the girls this season.

“We want to be a district champion,” Monsey said. “The next step for us would be to get as many rounds deep into the playoffs as we can.”

With a new year and a fresh squad, the girls are determined to get into the playoffs and win district this year.

“We’re not the tallest, we’re not the strongest, we’re not the fastest, we’re not the most athletic,” Senior Cate Young said. “But we’re willing to outwork anybody to get to where we want to be by the end of the season, which is deep into playoffs.”

The girls have aimed themselves this season to integrate the team closer into a tight-knit community.

“ Our team is going into the season with an attitude of grit and just confidence in one another,” Young said. “We have some team dinners and a friend’s giving where we’ll play certain games together to get to know each other better and kind of enhance the competitive attitude between the team.”

Team building builds friendship and teamwork between players, and allows a team to trust each other during tough moments of the game.

“I think the biggest challenge for most teams is finding the right combination of who plays well together and how to accentuate each other’s strengths,” Monsey said. “If we can do those things, I think our skills will take us to where we need to be.”

Though mindset can present a multitude of trials, there is also a significant physical challenge for the Scots as well.

“I think our biggest challenge will be just combating the fatigue that comes as the season progresses,” Young said. “Just reminding ourselves of our goals and what motivates us and remembering that we’re doing it for each other and not for our own personal gains.”

Coach Monsey has come up with a philosophy of fortitude to allow players to stay in the moment and not zone out.

“We have our kind of philosophy of the four E’s…they are energy, execution, effort and empowerment,” Young said. “ It just kind of defines how we expect to treat each other, treat ourselves, and it just raises the standard. So I think just reminding each other and reminding ourselves of what we’ve said is what we stand for as a big motivator.”

With both boys and girls ready to tackle the challenges ahead of them, it looks to be a promising season for both teams.

“I’m excited about our returners and how our new pieces are coming along,” Monsey said. “So I think we have all the pieces needed for a deep playoff run and a great season.”