The St. Timothy Thunder senior basketball teams’ seasons are in full swing. The boys played their first game on Dec. 5 and the girls on Dec. 11.
The boys have played three games this season, and while they are winless, head coach Katlyn Nelson says her team is already making huge strides toward improving.
“In terms of win, loss record it’s been a tough start … we’ve lost all three of our games against big teams, but the strides we’ve made have been phenomenal. We’re really working on building a program here, that’s all about building as a team, playing as a team and continuing to build on every year,” Nelson said.
“I’m trying to get a lot of leadership, and getting it from the Grade 12s, which has been fantastic.”
This is Nelson’s first year as the senior boys head coach, after coaching the junior boys last season in her first year at St. Timothy.
“I’m not sure what I had for expectations. I kind of knew a little bit at the end of last year about who was on the team, I’d watched quite a few of their games, and knew what I’d maybe be able to work with,” Nelson said.
“We had a lot of new students and I coached the junior boys last year so I knew the Grade 10s coming up would be a really positive influence as well … they have a lot of skill and really great attitudes. My expectations are to build up a program that the boys and girls can be proud of.”
The senior girls have only played one league game so far this season – a come-from-behind win over the James Fowler Falcons 57-50.
Girls head coach Leo Keefer was pleased with how his team battled throughout the course of the game, and how they’ve improved in such a short period of time since tryouts.
“It was interesting how we got there, but the girls were able to keep their focus through the last half of the game and I think that’s what helped us come out on top,” Keefer said.
“The season has been good so far. There’s not as much practise time as you would expect, or I would have hoped for. Basketball is such a complex game, that you need a lot of time to go over things.”
“But, I think we’ve found out that we can compete with all teams in our league and I’m really happy with that.”
Both senior Thunder teams will be participating in the Cochrane Classic from Dec. 14 to 16, something both coaches will be experiencing for the first time.
“I heard it’s a big deal, and a big deal for the whole town,” Keefer said.
“I knew there’s some strong teams coming in, and I’d like us to be competitive in every game, that’s always the goal. We just got to take on the first game and see what happens from there.”
“I’m really excited, the boys are excited and it’s always great for them to play in front of all the students … the junior high kids are really excited, I teach a lot of the Grade 8s and they’re geared up and ready to go, making banners for the team,” Nelson said when asked about the classic.
“I’m so excited, I got a lot of nerves, as I do every time I go and coach because I want to boys to do well, and they deserve to do well. I’m really excited to see these teams coming from across Alberta… we’re really looking forward to this weekend.”
