Spartans host home tourney

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

The Spartan Early Bird tournament is set to rock the Strathmore High School gym as students and parents get their first glance at the Spartans boys’ basketball teams.
The senior team gets ready for the jump against the Calgary Islamic School Dec. 2 at 5:15 p.m.
It will be Matthew Laslo’s first season behind the Spartans bench, and when he calls a timeout, he is lucky enough to see some familiar faces.
He previously coached at Crowther Memorial Junior High School for five years. The current seniors played for Laslo back when they were in Grade 7.
“It’s really cool seeing how they have progressed from little Grade 7s to seniors; especially off the court, seeing them grow up,” said Laslo. “It’s cool to be coaching them again.”
The Spartans didn’t fare well in south central zones last year, mainly due to a tough draw. They lost out to the two teams that later met in the provincial final.
With last year’s anticlimactic finish, the Spartans are looking to run it back with seven returning players. Even those new to the senior program played for the junior varsity team last season.
“We have had a good week of practice, the guys came with intensity, wanting to learn and get better. It’s good having guys who are familiar with the program because we can go right into refining skills instead of working on the basics. Good teams do the little things well,” said Laslo.
The Spartans host the Springbank Community High School Phoenix Dec. 3 at 9 a.m. The junior varsity Spartans take on the Cremona School Cougars Dec. 2 (7 p.m.) and the Highwood High School Mustangs Dec. 3,