Students at Marriotts Ridge are looking forward to the winter sports season. Attending fun games, witnessing exciting moments, and celebrating big wins are all amazing.
For athletes, tryouts started November 15th, with a chance to show their skills and hopefully make a team. For basketball, there is great talent, but only 12-14 players can be taken on each team. Athletes get three days to showcase themselves, and then coaches can either make cuts or add additional days of tryouts if they’re still unsure. The other winter sports are different. Wrestling takes players depending on their body weight, while hockey and indoor track allows anyone who signs up to join.
Last year, the Marriotts Ridge Boys Basketball Team had a great season, finishing with a 15-4 record while winning both the county title and regional championship. The JV boys finished with a 7-8 record after winning their first six games. This year, the JV team has a new coach, Dave Applebee, who has been around the county for a long time and was the school’s JV baseball coach last year. As for Varsity, Coach Willingham is returning after a very successful first year. In addition, he now has a place in Marriotts Ridge athletic department as a physical education and conditioning coach.. His team hopes to prove themselves again this year and come out stronger than ever.
Students are already getting excited for the upcoming season.
“I’m looking forward to getting wins this year and also bringing energy to the team and getting buckets,” junior Jack Bonner said.
In addition, sophomore Lukas Trellis shared that he is “ looking forward to making new friends this season.”
The girl’s basketball team is also looking to build on last year, where they finished with a 10-7 record. They were led by a strong junior core that will be returning this year as seniors. Under great guidance of Coach Miller, the team hopes to grab some big wins this year and has high hopes for what’s to come.
The Hockey team this year hopes to repeat their success of winning the county cup last season. They follow up a great season with a new group of skaters. Last year’s underclassmen have been working hard all season to fill the spots of the great seniors that left.
Sophomore Ben Rosenbloom shares “The coach is looking forward to having players with a positive mindset and players who are willing to work hard.”
With the start of their season underway, they hope to build on their previous successes and end up on top of the county. Winter sports bring excitement and enthusiasm to the school community. As athletes get ready for the season, the school prepares to come out and support its great teams.