Basketball is starting up this year at Bethany. The girls team is already practicing hard for their upcoming season, and boys practices will begin November 11. Both teams have to learn how to deal with the shift in team dynamics that comes with every new season as new players enter and old ones graduate, but both coaches and players feel optimistic and excited.
The boys team has smaller numbers than it did last year. Coach Jim Buller says he’s struggling to field both a JV and a varsity team, and that he’s “anxious to get started” on practices. However, he’s looking forward to the season. Joseph Mumaw (‘14) has been attending open gyms, and says the team will be very different from last year’s. “We don’t have as many big men as we used to,” the seasoned basketball player told Sightline. “We have a ton of guards.” But Mumaw is excited to get on the court and play with his friends. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” he added.
Girls team coach Krysten Parson is enthusiastic about this season. The team has risen in numbers since last year, which is good news. Parson says she enjoys coaching a sport she loves with people she enjoys. “We have a good core of seniors coming back… So I’m really excited about that.” One of those seniors, Marie Bontrager, is also feeling good about this year. Although the team lost some valuable players when last year’s class graduated, Bontrager feels good about the season. “We see the court well,” she said. Team dynamics are important to Bontrager, whose favorite part of basketball is working with the other girls on the team, as well as her coach.
Both teams certainly have some work to do before they can find out how they best work together, but coaches and players are ready to make this a good basketball season for Bethany.
~Rachel A. Schrock