Late-night open gyms from 7-9 p.m., hour-long conditioning sessions on Saturdays, dozens of sets of hill sprints, 4 hours spent lifting weights every week- the season hasn’t even started yet.
“This preseason has been very brutal. We had a good season last year and nobody wants to drop from there so our conditioning and our weightlifting have been extreme,” said varsity girls basketball team captain senior Natalia Martinez.
Last season, the girls varsity team won the NCS championship, while the boys varsity team won the WACC-Shoreline league setting a school-record with a record of 25-5, according to Piedmont Athletics.
Due to their performance last year, both teams have been promoted to the WACC-Foothill League.
“We’re going to be playing harder teams, so it’s gonna be better competition for us, but we’re up for the challenge,” said junior varsity boys basketball player Ravi Silverberg.
Moving up a league and the pressure of maintaining a winning reputation is on the minds of players as the 23-24 season begins.
“I think the pressure is kind of a good thing because it makes you strive to be the best version of who you can be. And we don’t want to let down the past year’s teams,” said varsity boys basketball team captain senior Declan Linnane.
Roster changes are another factor that will shape this season for both teams.
“The five seniors that were on the team [last year] are all playing college basketball right now. So that part is obviously exciting and incredible for the program,” said girls basketball head coach Bryan Gardere.
The loss of those 5 seniors on the girls team has raised contemplations about how successful this season will be.
“I feel like this year has been really tough on us in the sense that people are really doubting us and have minimal to no expectations for our team, but I’m ready for us to show them that we are still here and we’re gonna make moves,” said senior varsity girls basketball player Lindsey Wirgler.
On the flip side, the new roster will open new opportunities and rules for players.
“They have new opportunities because we lost five seniors that scored a lot and rebounded a lot, so everyone has a chance to take on new scoring roles, new rebounding roles, new defensive roles, new ball handling roles,” Gardere said.
The boy’s team also lost several players to graduation. This will impact their play style and strategy.
“Last season, we relied a lot on one of our seniors, AJ, and this year, it’s more of a balanced scoring effort,” Linanne said.
The new mix of players has brought different strengths and skills compared to last year.
“I think we’re a lot faster this year so we should be able to get out and run and get easy baskets,” said varsity boys basketball head coach Ben Spencer. “We’re also a lot longer than we were last year.”
Both teams have found that there has been good team chemistry among the new roster of players, said varsity girls basketball player Kat Melian.
According to MaxPreps, the girls team will play their home opener against Berkeley on Dec. 12. The next boys home game will take place against Alhambra on Nov. 28.
