By Cameron Hill

Swish! Swish! Swish! That is the only sound you’ll be hearing in the TPA gym this winter. The girls and boys high school basketball teams have been working hard this fall to prepare for the upcoming season. Despite the challenges of playing a sport during Covid-19, both teams have rapidly been improving under the guidance of Coach Lambros (boys) and Coach McClary (girls). Hopes for this season are high!

This season the boys basketball team welcomes Coach Lane as a new assistant coach. Coach Lane has plenty of basketball experience, having played both college basketball and overseas basketball. Coach Lane is also a certified personal trainer which can help the team in many aspects from stretching to lifting. Coach Lane brings tons of energy to the program and is a huge addition for the team.

Another important addition to the gym is the new shooting machine. Coach Lambros identified lack of shooting practice as a problem he wanted to address this offseason. The struggle was that, even with one person rebounding the ball, it was impossible to get as many shots in as needed. To address this problem, Coach Lambros acquired a brand new shooting machine that not only rebounds the ball, but also passes the ball back out to you automatically. This machine allows the team to get many more shots in practice which is important because the key to shooting, as Coach McClary says, is “repetition, repetition, and more repetition.”

Both the girls and boys teams have worked hard to address any and all problems they encountered last year. Coach McClary noted that the girls team has worked to really nail down “the basic fundamentals such as ball handling, shooting, passing and strength training,” specifically “easy baskets” and “uncontested layups.” Developing the fundamentals will maximize the team’s potential.

Meanwhile Coach Lambros similarly mentioned the boys team has been developing fundamentals, but they have really focused on shooting. Their offense relies on shooting as many shots as possible so the ability to hit each and every shot is very important in order to maximize offensive output.

Another big change is happening for both teams this year. Both the girls and boys teams will move down a division from 2A to 1A. While some might see this as a negative, Coach Lambros sees the move as beneficial to TPA basketball as a whole. Coach Lambros said for the first time in a long time we will be “playing against schools who have similar enrollment as us,” and that “being in 1A will allow us to be much more competitive.” However, Coach McClary warned that the teams should not focus on the change of division too much because each team member still has “to put in the work to get better and compete.”

Both teams are still hosting practices right now before the start of the season. Anyone who is interested in “developing time management skills, teamwork, mentorship, leadership, fitness, social relationships, problem solving, performing under pressure, accountability,” or any number of other skills, should absolutely come to one of the offseason practices, regardless of if you have played basketball before. According to Coach Lambros, anyone who comes to practice “will love it.”

Knights, make sure to come to as many basketball games as you can this year. You will not be disappointed!