Submitted Photo
The Casper College Men’s Basketball Team shoots around in the Erickson Thunbird Gym earlier this fall.
By Yaasmiyn Hickman
As November approaches, so does the start of a new basketball season. This year’s Casper College Men’s Basketball team is made up of new players, new coaches, and new attitudes. One of the exciting aspects of this upcoming season is the new coaches setting the scene. College basketball is an opportunity for aspiring athletes to work their way up to their dreams while juggling the stresses of school work, ambitious goals, and intense practice. Dedication and chemistry are primary attributes that go into preparing for a good season.
The root of the team is CC’s new head coach, Tom Parks, and new assistant coach, Deion Anderson, who work with a nurturing but tough strategic method. The team spends six days out of the week practicing for two hours with an additional hour of lifting.
The coaches put in work to go the extra mile for the team.
Anderson stated, “It’s not work if it is doing something that you love.”
The world of basketball is wide and broad on its own. With high school, college, NBA, and professional leagues overseas, there is always a coach on the sidelines. Coaches serve the players by guiding them in the art of the game and in making improvements.
They tweak defensive strategies and shooting techniques, and they foster the ability to make split-second decisions on the court. Coaches contribute the proper elements that go into the sport mentally and physically. A large majority of players gravitate toward coaches as role models. Anderson sees himself as responsible and reliable for all fourteen players. He stated he does his best to be there for his players whether it’s getting them a tutor, providing them with a ride, or giving them advice. Both coaches are there to better the lives of each player by being a part of guiding each athlete’s future to success and happiness.
As the basketballs start hitting the gymnasium floor, players prepare for the upcoming games. The dynamic of each team differs over the years at CC with the different types of players displaying their collective personalities. This year’s team looks closer in strategy, as well as in friendship. Since rooming with one another and being each other’s first interactions with CC, the players have formed a fast closeness, not only sharing the same love for basketball but creating a long-lasting sense of comfort.
As with any team, it is important to build a strong connection. Trusting each other on the court is crucial to the game. The CC players also spend time with each other in practices and classes while also rooming together. The chances of forming a connection are easier and faster. This year’s team is more unified than previous years.
According to returning sophomore, Jaden Peters, “The team this year has a lot of outgoing personalities, which made it easy to form close connections. We all talk a lot because we spend most of our time together.”
In community college basketball, every victory is celebrated as another milestone to get closer to a goal. The more athletic achievements that are collected, the better they get as players and coaches.
There is more than standing on the sidelines, screaming and pointing. Coaches and teammates provide motivational direction that not only shapes the players on the court but also the people off the court. Running up and down the court, they symbolize the flexibility, opportunity, and transformative power of sports. This shows the true determination of an interworking community.
