Boys basketball players earn awards
The Dragon Boys Basketball season was a year to reflect on. Each season, coach Kyle Allen likes to reflect on and re-assess the past. This past season was a year of building and re-grouping, as Allen often commented on in his interviews.
The boys went 6 and 21 in the season. “Not where our expectation is in terms of wins and losses, but we also knew that we were purposefully going to hit the reset button this year,” said coach Allen. “When we looked at the program as a whole at the end of the previous season, we looked at what we were doing was not aligned to what we thought we should be doing.”
Last year was the first time in five years that the boys did not win the conference, and the coaches started to notice then that there was a glitch in the system which needed to be addressed. Although the record was not what people wanted to see, there were steps taken forward this season. In the beginning of the boys season, they played North Branch and lost by 40 points, then lost to East Central by 40 points. But as the season moved forward, that gap of points was brought to 30 … and then to 20. Then, the boys were starting to stick with the teams for the first half, showing that they were retaining what was being taught.
“As the season went on,” reported Allen, “we were able to start getting some of those principles back in place.”
The Dragons had one lone senior this year: Matthew Blake. According to Allen, it is because of Blake that this reset was able to happen. “I cannot sing his praises enough; I can’t say enough positive things about what he did over the last calendar year for this program. He allowed us to take that step back,” said Allen. The process of rebuilding is not yet complete, but having a leader like Blake as a senior has set the process in motion.
The upcoming seniors will now be given the opportunity to take the step forward in leadership, in maturity and in performance on the varsity court. Coach Allen has often stated that all other levels are preparing for varsity game play – this includes third grade Hoops all the way through JV. “The growth that we started seeing this past season will now be put to the test as the current juniors will be seniors and the leaders of next season,” noted Allen.
The “basics,” as coach Allen calls them, need to be taken care of first. These are: effort, energy, and coachability; rebounds and defenses; and to not turn the ball over. Allen said, “Our hope is that these levels are taken care of by the time you touch the varsity floor.”
Now, reports Allen, is the time for off-season. He, along with the other coaches, wants and encourages their players to be three-sport athletes. Participating in three sports will work different muscles, allow for different coaching styles, and allow success in different seasons. “We want those things to happen,” said Allen. “We want to help band together all Dragon athletics.”
Morning workouts will be offered in the morning for all athletes in grades 7-12. Athletes are encouraged to attend. “This is not a requirement,” commented Allen. “But we believe it will help enhance our kids as people and as athletes, as students of the game and of school.”
The JV team went 6 and 18 this season. The C squad went 15 and 8. The seventh and eighth grade teams did well; although, they had a hard time finding games to play as many of the teams around have low numbers.
Awards
The All-Conference earners were named and include: Charlie Ausmus (All-Conference) and Bryer Willert (Honorable Mention).
Team Awards include the following: Matthew Blake (MVP); Charlie Ausmus and AJ Ostenson (Offensive Players of the Year); Bryer Willert (Defensive Player of the Year); Grant Larson (Most Improved Player); Matt Blake and Charlie Ausmus (Dragon Award); Eli Fromm (Hustle Award); Matt Blake and Eli Fromm (Teammate Award); and Grant Larson (Eye Opener).
