Cougars take strides up in home tournaments

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Crowther Memorial Junior High School Cougars combined Grade 6 and 7 girls team, the Grade 7/8 girls and Grade 7 boys basketball teams saw a tremendous upside in their teams games after their home tournaments on Jan. 22 and 23
For the Grade 6 and 7 girls team, it was the first opportunity for many of them to experience the game of basketball where with each touch of the ball they became better players.
“We didn’t do anything in the game that we’ve been practicing,” said coach Carley Blaseg.
“But by the second and third game they really started remembering plays we worked on. They were remembering to use their dribble and use the fundamentals that they know and were able to do and translate them into the game.”
The Grade 7 and 8 girls team began the tournament with a tight defensive battle against Calgary’s Clarence Sansom School, and were able to learn from that and opened up their game more as the tournament went on.
“They started spreading out,” said Blaseg
“They started doing what we’ve been doing in practices. Defensively they started boxing them out more, closing out better like we’ve been doing in practice. By the second and third game they really started to execute that.”
Blaseg’s hope is for the older group to build on the tournament experience by playing more of a team game and tighter defense.
Meanwhile, the Grade 7 split squad boys team previously only had one game under their belts this season and the tournament was a good chance for them to compete against other teams in their own school.
“Each one of these boys developed way better than we thought they would be,” said head coach Todd Kennedy.
Kennedy said the offense was much better than the defense, where there is still work to be done, but what he really liked was that the team listened well and responded well to the pressure.
“The energy level kept getting better and better,” said Kennedy.
“They ran faster and were more excited to be out there. Tournaments are a really great practice for them and we’re looking forward to seeing what they do in the next one.”
One team finished at the bottom and the other lost in the consolation final.