Noxon Red Devils get ready to rock and roll

Jamie Doran and Heather Hasty

Valley Press

The Noxon Red Devils basketball team is gearing up for the tournament they host Dec. 12 and 13 and head coach Mike Tessier is excited to begin his first year as head coach.

Tessier was the assistant coach at Noxon for six years, which he said helped him.

"I'm very excited about it, and we're going to have a good year this year," he said.

Last year, the Noxon varsity team won the conference for the regular season and ended up taking third in the district tournament.

"We went into the tournament as the number one seed and got beat in the first game," he said. "We didn't quite get the result we were hoping for and we are hoping to improve on that for this year."

Tessier said that they have 21 men going out for both the JV and varsity teams, which is an impressive showing.

He added that they have three seniors returning who the are going to contribute skills and leadership. Cody Linderman, Jason Allen and Jesse Hay are all returning seniors. Tessier said he is also looking to Chris Herbig, a junior who started last year.

The team started practice Nov. 24 and are gearing up for their first tournament, which they host. Teams from Mission, Eureka, Victor, Seely Lake, and Thompson Falls will be in attendance and Tessier said they're looking forward to it.

"We excited to get it started," he said.

The team has a lot of young players, according to Tessier, so he said it has been very important to work on the fundamentals and on shooting drills.

"We're working on the daily routine that we do in practice with lots of conditioning," he said.

Because he's the head coach this year, Tessier's implemented some new plays, so the team has been getting used to that as well.

"We have a lot of tradition in Noxon and we're looking forward to keeping that going," he said. "We're really excited about our returning kids from last year and the younger kids as well."

The Noxon Lady Red Devils have a new head coach this year and she said she is thrilled to be involved with the girls.

"I'm really excited," Sarah Hannum said.

Hannum is originally from Plains and currently lives in Trout Creek, where she has been living for almost five years. She used to own Sarah's Espresso in Thompson Falls.

Hannum played basketball and volleyball for Plains High School and that's where her passion for coaching arose.

"I coached volleyball in Plains for one year and absolutely loved it," she said. "This is my first time doing basketball though, so it'll be a little different."

Hannum said she really loves to coach and she really wanted to be involved in something, so taking the coaching position at Noxon was a no-brainer.

The team started practice Nov. 24. Due to Science Olympiad, the first full practice took place Dec. 6. Hannum said she only had six girls at the first practice, but will have 15 out total for the junior varsity and varsity.

Hannum said she is still trying to learn some things because the previous head coach took another teaching job and is no longer at Noxon, so she hasn't been able to get her hands on all of the statistics from last season.

"Right now there are no real standouts," she said. "But I'm sure that will change as we get more practice under our belts."

She said right now the team is mainly focusing on conditioning in order to get the girls in "super good shape."

She also said that everything is very new to the girls because they have a new coach.

"They haven't had a whole lot of consistency," Hannum said. "I believe they've had a new coach every year for the past five years, so they've had to learn new drills and new plays every year."

Despite the turnover, Hannum said the girls are really excited which elevates her excitement as well.

"There is lots of potential there," she said. "I have a really good group of girls."

She said the main thing she wants to stress throughout the season is fun and for all of the girls to have a good and positive experience.

The Noxon Lady Red Devils will see their first action on the court Dec. 12 and 13 in Plains at a tournament the Lady Trotters are hosting.

The wrestling season is on its way to beginning, the Noxon team will start this weekend with the Cascade Invitational.

Last year, according to Kelly Moore, wrestling coach, four boys participated in the team and all of them will be returning. Adam Moore went all the way to state last year at 145 pounds and this year as a sophomore he will be wrestling at 152. Caplen Weare will be returning as a junior after having a 500 last year, he will be wrestling at 160. Clay Smith will also be returning as a junior wrestling at 135 and Cody Martins will be returning as a sophomore wrestling as heavyweight.

In addition to the four returning members three new freshman and three new sophomores will be joining the team bringing its member ship up to ten. Moore said that right now they are just working on the basics however making it to state is the goal.

"I'd like to get a lot of these kids some experience and see how many we can get through divisionals and into state," Moore said, "So we just want to get these kids some practice and exposure, have some fun and get to state."