The Mycenaean

Certain obstacles made it difficult for the Leesville men’s JV basketball team to find their chemistry on the court during their 2020-2021 season.

Fortunately, they were able to play fewer games than a normal season. Leesville won four out of the ten games they played during their season. 

This year, the team could only practice once a week because of gym availability issues. Varsity basketball took priority over junior varsity basketball, so when sports season and practices were being shifted around because of COVID-19, JV basketball lost practice time.

Luke Lovic, a sophomore who was on the JV basketball team, said, “We normally practice every weekday after school, but this year we only practiced once a week.” 

He explained how the addition of freshmen to last year’s team roster challenged their team’s chemistry during games with the lack of practice time.

Garret Dail, sophomore, seconded Lovic’s opinions on limited practice time during the basketball season. “The season went about as good as the 2019-2020 season, but it took a lot more work for our team to find its rhythm before we could win any games,” said Dail.

The JV basketball team dodged obstacles during their season that included changes to their typical practice schedule, new freshmen being added to the team that the sophomores had no prior practice with, and, of course, the mask mandate.

The basketball team would shuffle up and down the court with their masks on trying to avoid being penalized for their mask falling below their nose.

Lovic said, “Trying to breathe with the mask on during games and practice was just another thing that made this season harder than last year.”

At the beginning of the season, the team went from a three-game losing streak to winning three games in a row. The end of the season left a bunch of players on the team unhappy with the way their season concluded.

The multitude of challenges that the Leesville men’s JV basketball team faced caused inconsistencies throughout their season which tested the team’s chemistry.