Summer basketball comes to a close
HOT SPRINGS – The sharp squeaks of sneakers and the hard crash of rebounds careening off the boards could be heard at the gymnasium in Hot Springs during the open gym sessions.
The open gym shoot-arounds provide team members a chance to keep playing basketball during the offseason.
These sessions help keep the student athletes sharp during the long months of summer vacations. Both the boys and girls of Hot Springs High School have had an opportunity to improve on their basketball skills during the summer months.
The open gym sessions are not the sole portion of Hot Springs summer basketball programs with the teams also participating in competition.
The Savage Heat boys partook in a tournament held in Superior earlier in the summer.
The competitive games in Superior against area teams was a great way to help gear the team for the opening of the regular season later in the year, during November.
Head coach of the boys team, Ricky DePoe, said the busy months of summer is a challenging time to get the entire team into the gym, but it also provides the Savage Heat a chance to clock in some time on the court during the offseason.
“A lot of members of the team are working or playing baseball during the summer,” DePoe said.
Nonetheless, the summer basketball season, which runs from June 1 to the end of July allows coaches to get some experience with their teams before school is once again in session.
Perhaps the most important part of the summer mini-season is it provides coaches with the first look at the incoming freshmen class who will join their teams in the fall.
The two-month long preseason during the summer months also helps the future freshmen gain experience.
In the offseason the new freshmen get a chance to meet their new teammates and get initial exposure to the defensive and offensive schemes they will be running over their next four years as student athletes.
The Savage Heat girls basketball team is welcoming a new coach this season, Michelle Hunter, and the opportunity to work with her team before the crunch of the regular season will surely benefit the squad once the regular season tips off.
In addition, to the open gym sessions and summer tournaments, members of both the boys and girls basketball teams have lent a helping hand to their younger peers during the off-season.
When DePoe and Hunter ran a basketball skills mini-camp for younger students as part of the Summer Fun Program at Hot Springs, several high school athletes were on hand to help out.
From the beginning of August until the start of practices in the run up to the regular season in the fall, coaches are not allowed to practice with the team.