Steady as she goes for boy hoopsters

INNISFAIL - The senior boys basketball team at Innisfail High School is making slow but steady progress on the courts this season.

"Our objective is to make the playoffs," said Allen Traxel, head coach. "We lost our first two games, then we won four in a row and then we lost one. (Our record) is four and three right now."

The team plays in the Central 2A league and began their season in November. They finish the season in March and currently practise twice a week with two games a week.

Traxel said he has seen many positives from his senior boys team this season.

"They're really aggressive, they work really hard and they're easy to coach," he said. "They're really good on full court press. That's checking the players all the way down the (court)."

The senior boys basketball team consists of players in grades 10 to 12 with 12 players on the team this year. They are shaping into a well-rounded group.

"They've improved in all areas," said Traxel, noting that it may be a long road to the playoffs but they know what they must do to get there.

"(We need) to cut down our mistakes and we must work on our shooting," explained Traxel, highlighting some key points that make this team successful.

"They are a team. They work as a team and they pass to open players."

The high school senior boys basketball team recently played a couple of tournaments in Olds and Lacombe in January.

"We played well in stretches (in the tournaments)," said Traxel. "The one in Olds we played against two of the top 3A schools and we had some trouble with them. Then we played David Thompson (school) in the last game and we beat them by four."

In total, the team came away with two wins -- one win in Olds and one in the Lacombe.

The team will keep working hard and improving until the end of the season when playoffs begin in the second weekend of March.

"We have to beat the teams that we beat before," said Traxel. "If we can do that, we'll make the playoffs."