Going into the exam break, Innisfail High School (IHS) athletes will have some time to look back and reflect on a good first half to the basketball season.
Three basketball teams are currently representing IHS, including a Grade 8 and 9 CENA girls’ team and both a boys’ and girls’ high school team.
The Grade 8 and 9 girls’ team, coached by Kevin Meyer, a community member, are off to a good start this season.
The team played a season opening tournament which was a great learning experience for the girls, said Meyer.
After the tournament they went on to win both of their first two league games, one against Bowden and the other against Spruce View.
Meyer said the team is still working on their skill development, as they are a young team.
There are three Grade 9 girls on the team who all have experience, and the rest of the girls are Grade 8s.
However, all 12 girls have been improving said Meyer.
The girls have two home games coming up, the first will be on January 25, at 4 p.m. at the Innisfail Middle School (IMS) gym against Destiny Christian School and the second on February 1, at 4 p.m. against River Glen School also in the IMS gym.
The high school girls’ team is also a one of the younger teams in the league with only two Grade 12 students on the team.
The two Grade 12s, Becky Clutton, and Brianna Weinraueh, have become the team leaders and have done a great job mentoring the other girls, said head coach Allan Whitehead.
Currently the girls are sitting at 1-3 record beginning the year with a 45-43 victory.
February will be a busy month for the girls who will be playing in a tournament in Bentley on Feb. 12 and a tournament in Rimbey on Feb. 18 and 19.
The team will play league games until the end of the month when playoffs start.
“That will be one of our goals this year, is to make playoffs,” said Whitehead.
The girls’ next home game will be on February 9, at 5:30 p.m. in the IMS gym.
The high school boys’ team is currently on a three game winning streak and is holding a record of 3-1.
They lost their first game of the season but have come back to win games against Cremona, Sundre, and Olds.
They have played two tournaments, the first at River Glen where they came second in the B final. The second tournament took place in Beaumont where they went 1-2, beating Vermillion by four points, and loosing to Drayton Valley and Strathmore.
“They have begun to play together, there are a lot of different combinations of kids on the court and they are really starting to improve,” said Kent Lorenz, the teacher representative for the team. David Ballentyne is a community member and took on the head coach position for the team.
The boys will be playing tournaments in Bentley, Sundre, and Lacombe after the break. They will not have any more home games but the team of six Grade 12 boys, five Grade 11s and three Grade 12s, are hoping to keep the winning streak going after exams.
