Like their Gladstone counterparts in the YRHS, the Sacred Heart Saints Sr. Boys Basketball program is also hoping to find a perfect harmony of rookie players and talented seniors to ride to success in the 2013/14 SHSAA 4A Basketball season. Returning back to the 4A after a small drop in boys enrolled in the school sent them to 3A last season, the Saints and their head coach Garrett Karcha are hoping that they can continue the trend of last season where the Saints left off as a much improved outfit before losing in the Regional Final to Shaunavon.
"We have a good group of committed guys this season who last year showed a ton of improvement when the season came to a close in March compared to where they were in November so I am excited to see what a new season will bring," says Karcha.
A new season will also bring the return of the Saints usual challenge of being one of the smallest schools in the 4A division of basketball, just hovering over the number of male pupils at the Catholic school to move back up after being a student or two short during the 2012/13 school year. A challenge that the team embraces, but knows is a task that requires a lot of work.
"Knowing that we are going to have to compete against the larger centres and schools in the province excites the players on our team that have been playing for a long time because they want the best competition they can get and it excites myself personally because I also want to always see where we stack up amongst whatever school in the province that we can play," says Karcha.
The Saints have brought in a high number of underclassmen this season, something Karcha mentions is partly because of the school's lack of a Grade 9/10 team as well as to build continuity, hopefully at the guard position where Karcha says the team is looking for a leader. "Hopefully we can find a young guard who comes through the pack out of the guys who will be returning next season, but right now with the quick turnaround from football/volleyball season to basketball we are just trying to help find the natural positions for our guys after just a couple of practices."
As for a goal for the season, Karcha maintains that having a tight knit team that enjoys their season is more important than wins and losses, but knows that winning is important to that experience. "Mostly anyone who has played high school basketball looks back at the time they spent with their teammates as some of the best memories of their high school experience so each year my focus is on my players having a fun season to look back on, but we all want to win because that is a huge part in why we play."
