Tigers basketball starts up for winter season

ST. REGIS – With winter settling over the county, the boys of St. Regis High School’s sports teams go indoors for the basketball season.

The boy’s basketball team is small this year. With only five members, Head Coach Tyler Nordby said the team would have to be in good shape.

The team will also be non-traditional and unable to put as many players on the court as other teams. According to Nordby, the team will also be unable to take breaks or breathers in a game.

“We will just have to have people play all the time with very little breaks,” said Nordby. “They will have to take a lot on themselves each and every game.”

The boys have worked hard at practices so far. Nordby was impressed with how the team kept up on the skills of the game and made an attempt to get better. This has helped with practices because the team members are already familiar with strategies from last year.

Nordby said he has been able to work with this as a start point for this season. It will also help to have players who were involved in other sports.

A few veterans from last season have come back to the team this year. One of the veterans, as well as a freshman, was also on the Clark Fork Timberwolves cooperative football team earlier this year.

The varsity team has an eighth grader on it this season. According to Nordby, this was a special compensation from the Montana High School Association.

The compensation was allowed due to the health risks of such a small team. Without enough players on the team, injured players may need to play through the injury and risk making it worse.

Nordby will try to get more eighth graders on the team. He will know more about the possibility after the junior high basketball season ends later in December.

[It depends] if we’re allowed to by MHSA,” Nordby said. “So we could see an increase in numbers.”

Because of the large transition between junior high basketball and varsity, there is some concern with how younger players will cope with the transition. Nordby said practices should allow the kids to pull themselves up and adjust to the harder, faster game. However, the team could have other problems to overcome this season.

Confidence could be a challenge for the team this year. According to Nordby, the team did not win any games over the last two seasons. The challenge will be to keep the team positive and not expect to lose right away.

“Getting that first win is a huge obstacle for us now,” Nordby said. “The moral is so low because of the little success we’ve had.”

As the first tournament approaches, the team will work on the fundamental skill sets and focus on other specific strategies later. Nordby said he would evaluate what the team needed to use as a focus and improve on after the Tiger Tail Tournament.

He will keep the training sessions simple and add new plays in when he feels the team is ready.

Nordby is confident with where the team stands at the start of the season. The Tigers may not have the strongest team, but there are some who may be on a lower standing.

“We’re right where we want to be,” said Nordby. “Not the top, but not the bottom.”