Woodside’s basketball team has been working very hard to begin this season, putting in long practices and heavy conditioning to prepare for what they hope will be a strong year. Players have reported that the hard work has led to a significant improvement in the entire program.
As the season kicks off, players say the team looks connected and confident during practices, especially as they make their plays stronger and improve their conditioning.
“We have done immense conditioning and training,” freshman Luca Artali said. “What really improves us is a lot of weight room and just getting all of our plays set and being ready each game.”
The team’s focus on organization and consistency has been a major factor in their progress. Players are beginning to recognize their improvement in how fast they have been developing this season.
“Yeah, we’ve definitely gotten a lot better,” Artali said. “We have been on a four-game win streak, so I’d say we’ve gotten a lot better.”
Other players have also noticed this trend. With practices centered around conditioning and effort, teammates say improvement has become noticeable day by day.
“We’re locked in,” freshman Jamie Oldford said. “We’re doing well in conditioning, two-mile runs every day, it’s going well.”
Oldford also added that the team has several players who are growing quickly, even those new to basketball are starting to contribute. Before the season began, the team spent a lot of time building their chemistry in summer league and fall workouts, which players believe helped them start the year way stronger.
“We had summer league and fall conditioning before the season even started,” freshman Jack Scribner said. “We’ve really improved with keeping the pressure up, and now we are able to hold our leads better.”
Scribner said the team’s very busy schedule, with six practices a week, including games, has kept them focused and helped them continue their growth.
“In our last four games, we’ve done really well,” Scribner said. “I feel like that really shows who we are as a team.”
