It’s that time of year again, the start of Bobcats basketball, but for the 8th grade boys, it’s a bit different from other years.  Ever since we were in 1st grade, we had one goal in mind, to make the Padre Serra basketball tournament.   The Padre Serra is a basketball tournament that only the top teams in the Southeast area of Milwaukee participate in, and this year, everyone’s one goal is to participate in the Padre.

This year, we have new coaches and new players.  We have joined forces with Holy Family to help us make the Padre.  Last year, the A-Team was made up of me (Pete Collopy), Enzo DeMichele, Aidan Frazier, Jake Nation, George Linn, Nick Bowles, Andres Torres, and Joe Voit, but there are no spots guaranteed for this year.  Last year, we had some ups and downs, but we can fix that this year.  I asked the team from last year,  “What do you think we have to do in order to make the Padre Serra this year?”  Enzo DeMichele commented, “We have to play as a team, much different than last year. We also have to keep our heads up when we’re down so we can get back in the game.”  In my opinion, Enzo was right on the money, because last year, we gave up in games that we could’ve and should’ve won, and we needed to play as a team, not as separate players.  Andres Torres also commented, “I think that we should be able to develop a post that is actually effective because we struggled with that a lot last year but otherwise I think we had an overall solid basketball team,” which is true.  Last year, I thought our biggest advantage was being tall, but we didn’t make use of it because we didn’t rebound enough.  If we didn’t do that last year, we have to do it this year or we will lose too many games.

This year, we have the same old wrecking crew, but with the addition of Holy Family player Conor Ward.  Personally, I think we have some advantages on other teams.  One is height; our two centers, Nik Bowles and Conor Ward are both about six feet tall, which is way above the average height. Also, we are quick and we can move up the court faster than other teams.  The most important thing though is that everyone can dribble and we can can shoot well, too.  Andres Torres agreed with me, he said, “I believe that we have an advantage on defense on other teams because of our height and quickness which is a recipe for good defense and good post play.”

Thankfully, we have some new very good weapons, our coaches Steve Berg and Granville Holley.  You can consider Steve Berg a legend here at St. Robert’s, because in 2006, he took his team all the way to the finals of the Padre Serra but lost at the last second.  Coach Holley is also an awesome coach too. He will be coaching the B-Team, while Coach Berg will take the A-Team.  Enzo DeMichele commented, “I’m excited for the coaches because it’s a new mix from the years past, ” while Andres Torres commented, “I think that coach Burg and Holley will help us develop into a strong and solid 8th grade team.”  I am excited too because I have never had either of these coaches before.

Every year, something’s new: players, coaches, teams, and ball sizes.  This year, since we have combined with another school and two new coaches, it’s a new adjustment in some ways.  Enzo said,  “I don’t think anything will be different except the coaches and the Holy Family guys.”  I agree, but I also think that the talent level will be different, and the stakes are much, much, higher than previous years.

This year sounds like it will be completely serious, but in some ways, it’s not.  This year is our last year playing together, and we need to make the best of it, which means having a good time with each other.  You should go to as many games as possible for both teams because we are both extremely talented and are very fun to watch. Our next games are on Sunday, January 12.  Go Bobcats!