As the cold season sets in, new sports activities arise. Fall sports end and winter sports start. Boys and girls basketball, wrestling and cheer are all in full season. The extracurricular activities start to pile up, and students become even busier until Christmas break. For Piute, basketball season is a sport that is highly interactive between athletes and fans, making it an overall favorite winter sport.
Boys Basketball
Boys basketball is always competitive in Region 20. For the Piute boys basketball team, hard work and determination is the key to success. With head coach Eric Jessen and assistant coaches Wade Westwood and Morgan Hoyt, they hope to push the boys to victory in every aspect inside and outside of the game. This year there are 16 players. Even with the loss of some star players, underclassmen of Piute Boys Basketball have stepped up and filled in some big shoes.
Eric Jessen says, “This year we hope to have a more aggressive defense. Defensive rebounding and a more balanced scoring between everyone is something we hope to improve within our team. We as coaches also hope to see team effort. To see those good results we expect the boys to come focused and ready to compete. I hope they can expect those same things from me.”
Piute boys basketball is ready to play some ball, so watch out for the exciting style of basketball that is fun to see and cheer for!
Girls Basketball
The Piute girls team has always shown that even small in numbers, they are a team to keep an eye on. This year, the girls basketball team has a total of seven players: no freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. This team, while small, is feisty and shouldn’t be underestimated. Head coach Tim Westwood and assistant coach Holly Westwood work great together and always produce a strong, competitive team.
Tim Westwood said, “I expect my players to work hard in practice, come to practice every day and try to get better. I hope that I can be consistent in all that I do so we are unified. I want the girls to have team chemistry and overall team play.” He also wanted them to know that “basketball is a fun sport, but life is more important. And hopefully through basketball they can learn a few life skills to help them through life’s path.”
With those elements, you can’t go wrong in basketball. Westwood also stated, “We are grateful for the opportunity to play against other good teams and look forward to the good competition the rest of the year.”
Good luck to boys and girls basketball and all the Region 20 winter sports teams. And go Thunderbirds!
Ari Hurdsman – Junction
Ari Hurdsman is a junior journalist at the Byway. She just recently moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is a freshman at Snow College. She enjoys writing about Piute sports, and she’s really good at it! In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends and family.