Credit to Kaylin Mort

Kreighton Tyler taking notes during basketball game against Vianney.

For most teams, the offseason is just another day in the gym, preparing for the upcoming season ahead. However, for FHN’s boys’ basketball team, it is more than just practice and training; it is a new opportunity to form meaningful connections and friendships. According to offseason trainer Kreighton Tyler, these connections are just as important as the practices and skills they build. 

“I think [those connections] are huge,” Tyler said. “I think when I was in high school, that’s one of the biggest things that our head coach worked on, and it’s one of the things that kind of stuck with me. I like to talk to the guys, and I feel like I’ve just built a lot of, like, close connections with them. Just spending all that extra time with them in the gym.”

With these connections, the team has not only improved their basketball skills but also gained more trust in the team and their coaches. The team has already seen improvement over the offseason, but junior Trace Hunter believes that this trust and communication will continue to create success for the team. 

“I think it’s very important because if you don’t trust your coach, it just makes the season a lot longer and makes it a lot harder, and it doesn’t go by as easily,” Hunter said. “But, you know, if you have that trust there, you can have real conversations with them. And I think the team overall will be more successful.”

With coach Tyler coaching them during the fall league, the team has been able to form connections on the court and in games. However, these connections don’t just apply to the basketball court. The team also uses these connections outside of the sport and applies them to their daily lives. Junior Cohen Oster believes that the connections formed between him and the team have helped him in his personal life. 

“I think it’s good for me personally just to have another person that can get me in the gym, or if I need to talk to anyone, just to have another person like that is good,” Oster said.

With the basketball season quickly approaching for FHN, the end of the offseason and fall league has made the team want to stay in touch with Coach Tyler more than ever. 

“I 100% plan on it for sure, staying in touch with [coach Tyler],” Hunter said. “You know, he’s a cool guy. And it’ll just be easy to talk and especially during the season because I’ll see him a lot more, He’s always checking in on me. I think he does that with everyone. I think he cares about people, like how they’re doing in the classroom as well. So just, you know, he definitely cares.”