Pump fake, through the legs, across the court and to the hoop; sweat drips down the faces of tired, but triumphant, players.

Varsity has a district record of 5-0 and JV a record of 4-1. The guys practice hard every day in order to be competitive with other teams. A normal practice consists of a whole basketball period — 90 minutes — plus an additional two hour practice either before or after school depending on the team (JV or Varsity).

Varsity power forward Kristian Casas takes basketball practice very seriously.

“Our practices are usually drills and scrimmages,” Casas said. “Practice makes us work hard and fix our mistakes before any game.”

To make a successful team, each teammate needs to have an effective offensive strategy to make sure the team scores baskets. Nick Comtois, sophomore JV point guard, is in charge of setting up plays.

“I have to have good court vision to make sure the ball doesn’t get intercepted during a pass so we can score,” Comtois said.

Defensive strategy is just as essential as offensive. The team needs to defend strong to keep the other team from scoring.

“On the defensive side, we have a few tactics,” sophomore Kenyon Fitzpatrick, JV shooting guard, said. “Whether it’s a press, man to man, or zone, we D up.”

The offensive and defensive strategies are intended to keep the team strong against rivals such as Vandegrift and Vista Ridge; the team played Vandegrift last week and play Vista Ridge this Friday at home.

“We beat Vandy in a very close overtime game last week,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was down to the wire and we won.”

In order to find success against their rivals, the boys count on their team chemistry.

“We all play together as one; we’re all friends,” Casas said.

One can’t predict the future, but the boys are optimistic they can win district and perhaps go further.

“I feel like the team this year can go deep into playoffs as well as be district champs,” Fitzpatrick said. “Hopefully all the hard work will pay off in the end.”