End of Season Banquet

Please join all levels of the program for a night of celebration on Monday, March 17 at 7:30 PM in the HS cafeteria. Please bring family and a dessert to pass. "Dress up" as well! Hope to see you all there.

34-28 Win @ Kelloggsville

Congratulations, guys, on a strong, successful finish to the season these past couple of weeks! To show a steady, positive, hard-working mentality…even until the last day of competition…says a lot about you guys as a collective team as well as individuals. Job well done! And we were able to meet a season goal (win more games than lose) on this last day as well. Bonus!

I look forward to officially wrapping up the season with you in all my classroom right after school on Monday. Please bring all uniform items. We will be finished no later than 3:30 that afternoon. And please remember that we'll have a program-wide end-of-season banquet at some point as well. Stay tuned!

Thanks again for a rewarding season...

49-33 Win @ Coopersville

Guys,

Job well done last night in mostly taking care of business (despite some defensive lapses in the second quarter especially). And once again, a lot of guys contributed in a lot of positive ways throughout.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how we handle the last challenge before us: meeting the #1 team goal that you guys voted on way back on the night of Nov. 22!

See you at our last practice….

Schedule for our LAST WEEK!

Here goes with the final (hopefully not tentative) week of play!

**Monday: practice 3 PM…vote for last "team award" winner.

**Tuesday: game @ Coopersville (4 PM)…dress up for spirit week…bus leaves right after school.

**Wednesday: last practice of the season…3 PM…team dinner at Team Klingenberg (6 PM).

**Thursday: last game of the season @ Kelloggsville (4 PM)…dress up for spirit week…bus leaves right after school.

**Friday: team meeting right after school in my room…hand in uniform items if possible...should be done no later than 330! Please let me know if you cannot make it.

Big week coming up here obviously, everyone! Can't wait to see us finish strong…..

49-31 Win @ Holland

Gentlemen,

As a coach, I really enjoyed the total team effort today in a convincing win for our last conference game of the season. Job well done. BUT…that's just the FIRST of three steps we're taking in this last week and a half to meet our team goal and finish with an above .500 season record. We can certainly do it, but we need to keep our feet on the pedal!

Looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow in 3 PM practice!

47-41 Loss to Unity

Boys,

I admired your overall grit and fight yesterday in the close game vs. Unity. To come back out of the halftime locker room (and a 10 point deficit) roaring like we did for the rest of the game says a lot about you all. Unity simply made a few more plays than us in the end, but it's nothing to hang your collective heads about.

At this point of the long season, let's keep some momentum up as we approach our last three games!

See you today for 3 PM practice.

Upcoming Week

Hi, everyone!

Here goes with the schedule for this upcoming week (as well as a few updates regarding the next week):

**Monday: practice 5-7 PM.

**Tuesday: game @Unity (4 PM)…dress up in school…bus leaves right after school.

**Wednesday: practice 3-5 PM.

**Thursday: game @Holland (5 PM)…dress up in school…bus leaves at 4 PM.

**Friday: practice 3-5 PM.

**The next Monday/Wednesday: practice 3-5 PM (last team dinner on Wednesday @6).

I'm looking forward to a strong, positive finish to the season, guys! First up is revenge vs. Unity. Let's prepare for it by watching some film (re-check hudl when you can) and getting in a quality practice session tomorrow at 5 PM!

And congrats again to Keaton Mudd and Elliott Klingenberg for their respective team award recognition based on their quality play this past week!

42-30 Win vs. Z.West

Guys,

Job well done tonight! As I mentioned, the great thing(s) about the win today was a.) we went out as victors in our last home contest of the season b.) we finished strong (i.e. holding them to zero points in the third quarter as we made a serious run) and c.) every single guy somehow contributed positively to the winning cause! Way to go!

Now it's time for a quick turnaround rematch with Unity this next Tuesday. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get some redemption.

See you at practice tomorrow from 3 to 5!

43-35 Loss to Unity

Guys,

As mentioned (and I think you'll agree), the first half today vs. Unity was easily the best half of basketball we've played in a while…perhaps the entire season. That said, we need to be able to handle runs by the other team, and we struggled with that in a 15-2 third quarter that didn't go our way. Either way though, let's bottle up that first half effort and repeat x 2 versus Zeeland West tomorrow!

See you all tomorrow in my classroom at 4 PM…fully dressed and ready to take the court after some ZW film/review. And please take a look at old ZW film on hudl AFTER homework and IF it's not too late!

53-44 Win at Grandville

Boys,

Nice job of bouncing back in the second half last night vs. Grandville after a lull in the first half. I thought the energy, execution, and poise (especially at the FT line) was much better in the latter stages of the game. Now, again we need to figure out how to come out with more pizzazz, so to speak, right from the get go from here on out! A game vs. Unity tomorrow will demand that, that's for sure. We need a FULL four quarter effort.

See you at practice today from 3-5!

Upcoming Week

Hi, everyone! Please see below regarding the (updated) schedule for this coming week:

**Monday: game @ Grandville (rescheduled) at 4…dress up for school…bus leaves right after school.

**Tuesday: practice 3-5

**Wednesday: home game vs. Unity (rescheduled) at 4…more details to come.

**Thursday: home game vs. Z.West at 5…more details to come.

**Friday: practice 3-5

HW: Watch the most recent Holland Christian footage…and learn…esp. regarding the second half!

What with three games this coming week, what a way to bounce back from our last outing in a positive way! Let's get 'em.

And one more "congrats" to Chase Hagen and Tyler Eding for being lauded by teammates at the conclusion of our last practice for their respective positive play in the recent past!

49-27 Loss to H.C.

Guys,

It was mostly a tale of two halves today--the second, largely led by a group of reserves, being a much better display of toughness, aggression, want-to, etc. Unfortunately, our first half stinker was much too much to overcome. We certainly need to continue to learn to play a WHOLE 32 minutes…each and every game. With a handful of games left in the season, we can't afford any type of lack of effort/confidence on the court from here on out! Now, let's focus on today's mostly positive, bounce-back second half and move forward in a positive way yet again.

See you for 3-5 practice tomorrow!

38-37 OT Loss to B.C.

Guys,

The natural thing to do after a loss like this may be to question "what could I have done differently in order to get us a win??? What if??? What if???". Believe me, I'm feeling the same way. I replayed multiple scenarios in my head since the game ended.  All in all, today was a tough outcome when you look solely at the end of the game. That said, what we REALLY need to focus on is that we turned the tide on a team that beat us soundly the last time out, hung with them punch for punch, and proved that for this second half of the season, Hamilton Frosh is back and ready to keep improving! In other words, the loss today should sting a bit, but mostly we should view tonight as a positive step in the right direction. I hope you're all with me!

See you tomorrow for more good, hard work at practice from 3-430!

Upcoming (tentative??!) Weekly Schedule...

Hi, all!

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. Please remember the HW for the weekend: re-watch B.Center film, analyze, learn, etc…even IF they won't be the exact same team we face the second time around! I'm certain we'll have a much better performance this time around, but we ALL need to make that happen somehow. Let's prepare and come ready to work tomorrow at practice!

Here goes with the upcoming schedule for the week…with some alterations due to the crazy week this past week:

**Monday: practice 515-7 (due to staff meeting after school for faculty)….vote for weekly captain at conclusion of practice…stay tuned for next theme to be announced in the very near future.

**Tuesday: home game vs. B.Center (4 PM)…meet in my room directly after school…be ready to take the court at 330 PM.

**Wednesday: practice 3-5 (will share practice court for most of the time due to rescheduled home wrestling)

**Thursday: game @ H.C. (5 PM)…bus leaves at 4 PM…dress up in school.

**Friday: practice 3-5

That's it for now, all! Take care…and looking forward to seeing/working with all of you again.

43-35 Win vs. Holland

Nice job today, boys…especially considering the bit of adversity we faced what with not having had any organized basketball under our belts for this entire past week. As I mentioned in the locker room after the game, the third and fourth quarters were mostly impressive (and a big step up from the first half) in terms of tightened, courageous D (i.e. 3 charges!) and much better ball movement vs. a Dutch zone D. We'll need to take a bit better care of the ball late in a game when getting pressured from here on out, but we'll keep plugging away at that as well. All in all, good stuff.

See you tomorrow for practice from 3 to 5 PM!

Upcoming Week...

Greetings, everyone. I hope you're all enjoying the bit of time off…again??! Man…craziness.

Anyway, here goes with the schedule for this upcoming week:

**Monday: CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS SCHEDULE…practice 3-5 PM at HS instead of 5-7 PM. Please let me know if this will be a problem with anyone asap!

**Tuesday: home game vs. Unity (4)

**Wednesday: practice 3-5 PM at HS…Team Dinner at Blood's at 6 PM.

**Thursday: home game vs. Holland (5)

**Friday: practice 3-5 PM at HS

Note: We'll take a team vote at the conclusion of practice on Monday regarding this past week's "team theme": LITTLE THINGS. Stay tuned for the next weekly theme installment!

Let's keep this thing headed in the right direction, all….and please be safe with this weather!

37-22 Win at Z.West...

Congrats again, guys, on our first road (and conference) win of the season! Job well done. After the game, you all mentioned a slew of positives from the winning effort, and we should all bottle 'em up for practice tomorrow as well as the upcoming week of basketball.

Let's keep this thing rolling in the right direction!

See you all for practice tomorrow from 330 to 530...

46-38 loss to Allendale...

Gentlemen,

As I mentioned in the locker room after a winnable game today, we ALL need to individually figure out how to get us out of this rut we're currently in. In other words, how can each individual improve somehow personally in order to pitch in...in a positive way! Remember that this week's theme is "little things", and I think we can ALL admit that EACH of us can contribute more with the stuff that doesn't appear on the stat sheets…in practice, in games, on the court, off the court…in order to help us overall.

As you hear me say often: BE A SOLUTION AT THIS POINT ON... NOT A PROBLEM!

We'll get out of this together, guys…no doubt. ENVISION positive play often, PRACTICE positive play, and APPLY TO GAME SITUATIONS!

See you tomorrow for continued work….

Upcoming week and more….

Hey, all!

First, please check your school email account asap as I am about to send out to each player my sincere "Midterm" Thoughts here at roughly the halfway point of the season. As I mention in each note, please feel free to respond, gentlemen, with any comments, questions, and/or concerns you may have at this point!

Second, congrats again to Kaleb Moore for his peers this past Friday voting him alternate captain for his consistent ability to handle/value the ball.

Our upcoming weekly theme: TAKING CARE OF THE SMALL THINGS…more details to come.

Here goes with the upcoming weekly schedule:

**Monday: film in my classroom at 3 PM…on the court practice 4-5 PM.

**Tuesday: game at Allendale (4 PM)…"dress up" in school…bus leaves directly after school.

**Wednesday: practice 3-4 PM.

**Thursday: game at Zeeland West (5 PM)…"dress up" in school…bus leaves at 4 PM.

**Friday: practice 330-530 PM.

Time to get back to some winning ways, everyone!

44-33 Loss to H.C.

Boys,

We all had the immense challenge of bouncing back in a POSITIVE way from a very humbling loss in our last contest, and for the most part, I really thought we did! As I mentioned in my classroom for our pre-game meeting, the scoreboard would not be the best indicator today regarding our level of "fight" and positive attitude. A team can still lose on the scoreboard and be proud of an overall effort. I think we can do that today as we reflect.

Now, as I mentioned in the team room after the game, it's time to put up or shut up though in terms of repeated simple mistakes out there on the court--fundamental things that we all harp on repeatedly: boxing out, flashing to space, faking a pass to make a pass, etc. We are halfway through the season, and some of the mistakes we are making are "rookie" mistakes that should have been left behind by now.

I know we will all improve from here on out on the simple, small things that, in turn, lead to BIG things!

63-21 Loss at Byron Center...

Well, boys, as Coach Haverdink and I said after the game, that was quite the whoppin' that was put on us out there today…by a good team no less. In a situation where one team plays extremely poorly (us) and the other team plays well (and is already a good team with its only loss to East Kentwood this season thus far), it's not going to be a pretty ending---and tonight certainly was not pretty.

Now, we certainly MADE Byron Center look perhaps a lot better than they are what with the slew of turnovers, passive play on the boards, and consistent penetration into defensive lane again and again.

Time to buck up and get better….starting tomorrow! Actually, starting tonight if you get the chance to watch the film that's about to be uploaded. It'll be a lot of wincing…but make it PRODUCTIVE wincing…and then we move forward.

Continued theme of the week: TAKE CARE OF THE BASKETBALL AT ALL TIMES!

37-24 loss at GRCC and more...

Gentlemen,

Tough loss today…but as I mentioned in the locker room afterward, I thought that for the most part, we competed, scrapped, clawed, stayed positive on a much better level in this loss as compared to our previous loss to Middleville. File that away in our memory banks! But let's be honest, we need to get better…and take better care of the basketball!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend…and let's get back to work on Monday for an important pre-game practice in the MS on the eve of our conference season!

Here's the schedule for this coming week:

**Monday: 3-5 PM practice (MS)

**Tuesday: game at Byron Center (4 PM)…bus leaves right after school.

**Wednesday: 3-5 PM practice

**Thursday: home game vs. Holland Christian (5 PM)

**Friday: 3-5 PM practice

Theme of the week (reminder): Take care of/Value the basketball on every possession!

PS. Check out hudl film of today's game when you can! And LEARN!

44-26 Win vs. Wayland

Guys,

Job well done today, boys. I really enjoyed watching you guys bounce back from our first and only loss from the other night and get a win against an overall quality program in Wayland. Now, we've got perhaps an even tougher matchup this Saturday vs. a game GRCC…another chance at a win AWAY from our place. Can we continue to be COMPOSED?

We'll see you at practice tomorrow…3-5 PM. Check out hurl if you get a chance…planning to upload stuff soon.

On a side note, congrats to Teghan McMahon for his "team award" win for being consistently COMPOSED as voted by his teammates today after the game!

First Loss of the Season/Upcoming (Tentative) Weekly Schedule...

Hey, everyone. Hope all is well in this crazy weather??!! Please be safe!

First, regarding our first loss of the season this last Friday evening (46-27 to a game, hot-shooting Middleville squad), it's best that we do not overreact too much. Let's all admit that we certainly were not on our game, but I certainly do not believe that we quit. We just looked rusty in a number of key areas (minus two players), and we can/will tune up, so to speak. Now, if some of those lacking areas become a trend, then we'll address the matter. But with the class students of the game (and the classroom) that I know you all are, we'll self-analyze, correct, and move on.

Overall, like anything in life, when we screw up, we don't dwell on it…but rather take a quick, hard, sincere look at the past...analyze, learn…and move on. That's us in this situation!

With that said, here goes with our immediate future (weather pending):

**Monday: practice 3-5 (MS East)

**Tuesday: game at Grand Rapids CC (bus leaves right after school)…more details to come.

**Wednesday: practice 3-5

**Thursday: home game vs. Wayland (5 PM)…more details to come

**Friday: practice 3-5…varsity home game vs. Wayland at night…commemorative Hoppe stuff (shirts, dance, etc.) at the game…more details to come.

Reminder: the ongoing team theme from the immediate past is COMPOSURE (which we can all still improve upon…esp. from this past game)

Oh, and did we all check our hudl accounts and review/analyze recent game footage??!!

Take care, all…back to work…in the classroom and out. And stay tuned for weather/schedule updates!