This wasn’t just any other practice for the Hamilton Hawkeyes Boys Basketball team, this was practice for Districts on Friday, March 1st against their biggest rival.
That, of course, was Holland Christian.
Coach Kronemeyer begins to talk with the other coaches discussing how emotional he is. He says tomorrow they play the hardest competition in the world, themselves. He continues by saying this is the opportunity they have earned and deserved this whole season. “This is where we’re meant to be.” The music dies down and the group heads over into a Huddle. Coach Kronemeyer disappears into a group of Hawkeyes.
“What I need out of practice today is focus.”
He discusses drills they will go over to take down the Maroons. He tells his team the most important part is they stick together and don’t let the crowds and noise fill their head. “It is going to be harder than anything you’ve ever done, and it’ll take more mental stability than you’ve ever had. The only thing worth conquering tomorrow is ourselves. Let’s go”
He sends them off and discusses with coaches how the Districts game will go down tomorrow. Positivity is in the air throughout the gym. “Let’s have a great 30-hour stretch leading up to this game.”
With an hour and a half left of practice, Coach wants “great energy” from the boys as they do 4 on 4. Coach gives Logan O’Connor a shoutout for making it hard to stunt against Wayland just one night before. He asks for them to do the same thing to the Maroons. Coach asks the boys to put in more effort, reminding them this could be their last practice for some of them.
Moving into the next drill, Coach says something that scares him is how some of them have been playing during practice. He asks for more head scanning and movement. The Maroons are good at slipping through players and getting closer to scoring. “We can’t let them slip through. We can communicate this and guard it.” He stops them mid-play and tells them to communicate with each other better. Coaches’ nerves are calmed a little bit more. They go one more time through after criticism and make it perfect.
Wrapping up practice, the boys make a few more plays and break down the little things. They make it perfect and Coach feels satisfied with what they’re doing. He tells the team that tomorrow he has a strong feeling the boys will win this and become district champs. “They’ve had success over us for two games, but tomorrow we will not let them. Take a deep breath and remember, trust yourself.”
Teagan Mayrand