Thompson Falls boys bring great experience to the basketball court

THOMPSON FALLS – With practices a couple weeks in, the Thompson Falls Bluehawks have been working hard to prepare for the season.

There are 23 players on the team this year and, according to Head Coach Jake Mickelson, they are looking fairly strong. This year’s team has a number of returning seniors as well as players from last year’s team. The coach noted most of the experienced players have been playing together since elementary school and already had a good bond.

“They’ve got great team chemistry,” Mickelson said.

There are also a number of younger players coming up from middle school and who are new to the team. The number of players allows them to have three teams, with a varsity team, junior varsity and a C squad.

The boys have been practicing for a couple weeks now and have been working on their offensive plays as well as defensive plays. Mickelson recalled they had been doing drills during practice sessions, ranging from one on one to four on four, to practice their plays. The drills have the boys using half the court and playing against each other as opposing teams.

The coach noted the boys had been ‘working their tails off’ during practices. He said they were excited for the season to start.

Last year, the Bluehawks came out 15-8. Mickelson said the team was not satisfied with this and was determined to do better this year.

“They seem to want more,” he said. “They really want to make some noise in the state this year, not just in our little area.”

The Bluehawks will have their first games on December 11 and 12. They will travel to Great Forks for a kickoff tournament against the other teams in their conference; the team is expected to play against Shelby and Big Timber.