The Student News Website of Francis Howell North High School.

FHNtoday.com

The Student News Website of Francis Howell North High School.

FHNtoday.com

The Student News Website of Francis Howell North High School.

FHNtoday.com

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It’s possible to bench a player, not his passion

Many high school basketball players would be aggressive, hot tempered, or even frustrated if they were told to take a seat on the bench, especially if they had to sit on the bench for over eight games.

 

One player, after sitting on the bench for almost half of the Varsity season, is now finally eligible to play the game he loves so much. And through out his time on and off the bench he has kept a smile on his face.

“He has been polite and pleasant about it,” coach Bill Moyer said. “But that’s just the kind of guy he is.”

Already having an address that was within district lines, junior Mike Moynihan technically transferred over from Duchesne at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year.

“He was really excited leaving Duchesne and coming to FHN,” Moynihan’s mother Patty Moynihan said. “The transition was very easy for him.”

Soon after making the Varsity basketball team Moynihan was told that he would have to sit on the bench.

“When people transfer from private to public schools that happens a lot,” Moyer said. “But there are other reasons for transferring.”
Players sometimes sit out because they are under suspicion of transferring for athletic purposes.

“They thought we were transferring because I wanted to play on the team,” Moynihan said. “But we had another reason.”
Moynihan was told he would need to sit out of the game for 360 days.

“All transfers need to sit out the required days.” Moyer said. “Unless they apply for hardship.”

Hardship means that a family transfers over because of a family reason. Due to Moynihan’s father becoming unemployed, the tuition at Duchesne became hard to obtain. So, the Moynihan family was eligible to apply for hardship. This meant that Moynihan could play as soon as the paperwork got though to the state.

“We had to fill out a lot of paperwork for him to be eligible to play on Varsity,” Patty said. “But the paperwork got messed up and we had to send it to the state again.”

During this time, Mike sat on the bench for more then eight games.

“I still practiced with the team every night,” Moynihan said. “I was fine with it, and so was the team.”

After a long wait on the bench, Moynihan finally became eligible to play the sport he’s loved for so long.

“Mike is happy he gets to play now, but he still spends a lot of time on the bench,” Patty said. “He knows that come senior year, he’ll get the playing time he deserves. Mike has a good attitude about it because Mike’s love is basketball. It’s always has been, and always will be.”

Mike’s love for basketball has helped him get through this bump in his high school athletic career.

“I just love playing basketball,” Moynihan said. “Practicing is just as much fun as playing for a couple of minutes in the game. [Sitting on the bench] is not a big deal.”

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