This year, to start off the season, the YC boys varsity basketball team has made sure to stick to their goal as much as possible: to win. They have won five of seven games, with the biggest win of 82 to 42 against Waldport.

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Student Moroni Roberts holds the ball, attempting to get past a player from the opposing team. Photo by Lajla Raske

 Senior Gavin Tuning, who has been playing basketball for ten years, talks about why he enjoys being on the team. 

 “Winning and scoring points [is my goal]. The big goal is making my team better. A challenge is that it is a new coach for our program.” Tuning said, “We’ve had a big losing streak. It’s different having our new coach. She came to win and it’s a big turnaround. We’re going into that process of being competitive.”

 As one of the team captains, Tuning hopes to make an impact on the team. 

“[being a captain] is teaching [players] how to be good teammates and how to lead.. It is about watching out for them and making sure they can get to practice. I have to be there for them when the coach can’t.” 

Tuning explains how he tries to be a good influence on those who are on the team, showing them good examples of what to do, such as attending school and the practices. He also explains how his dad is one of his biggest role models. 

“He was my coach from third to sixth or seventh grade. Our whole family does basketball and he is a big part of that.”

Junior Brycen Williams, who has also been playing basketball for many years, talks about his experience with being on the team. 

“[The team] is coming together from last year. We weren’t doing the best and now we’re doing really good. It’s [also] good to have a purpose. I sometimes have trouble with scoring, so that is probably my biggest goal.” 

He said what makes the team work well together is the team bonding and practicing. The team has time to bond at breakfasts, dinners, and on the bus rides to away games. He also talks about some of the challenges that could appear for the team.

“We haven’t really won [before], so now that we do, we don’t really know how to handle it. We just need to get into that mindset more.”

Williams also says the one person he looks up to is his mom.

“[ I look up to] My mom because she’s always been there for me. She teaches me everything.”

While in the past, the YC boys basketball team may have had a losing streak, this year looks promising as team captains, such as Gavin Tuning help support the team, as they are led by coach Heather Roberts.