Junior B Boys Basketball 1

23 February 2016Jacob B, Ellis '19

Diversity is the perfect word to describe the Junior B Boys basketball team. From rugby players, to soccer players, to skilled basketball players, the Junior Bs truly were a collection of jacks of all trades. At the start of the term, I was pleasantly surprised by the plethora of skill. The team, although brand new, gelled incredibly well. Under the leadership of the Grade 10s and the excellent coaching of Ms. Napier, the team was in a strong position. The first game was vs. Queen of Angels, and we played well, but lost. We had the skill, but we needed a team. After a set of practices masterly led by Ms. Napier, we started to become a team. We then faced Chemainus, where we pulled off a convincing win and started implementing the plays. I saw a change: we were becoming a formidable team. With more milk runs than I can count, we became more fit; we added that to our game. We then played an athletic and physical Shawinigan: the boys stood strong and kept the deficit to 14 points. The guys were now a team, ready for the Duncan Christian Chargers, a formidable opponent. We lost due to their effective full court press and a hot shooter. We never lost hope, however, and showed qualities that you don’t see everywhere. We now looked to the final test, the tournament. We entered the tournament against Shawnigan; it was an incredibly close game but we just couldn’t grasp the victory. It was a phenomenal show of skill and grit: I was most proud of the boys in that one game. But we weren’t done yet, we still had to defeat the team we lost to in our season opener, Q of A, as a test to see how much we improved. The boys played a great game beating Q of A to close out the season. I might have fouled out more times than I can count, but I have a huge amount of respect for Ms. Napier and thank her for being a excellent coach and converting a jack of all trades team into a well oiled machine. Thanks also to Ms. Martin for organizing us and keeping us on track: she was extremely helpful and always upbeat. The promise and development that the Jr. Bs showed was astonishing. I have only good memories and new skills to take with me. This team was the embodiment to improvement and that was amazing to be a part of. Jacob B, Ellis ‘19

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