The boys’ varsity basketball team has gone through three coaches in the past three seasons.

“It has affected the team because there was a lot less offseason work and the teams were not as together,” sophomore guard Christian Rebec said.

Former assistant coach David Thompson said he struggled keeping up with being a new teacher and a being new coach last season.

“I was kind of like paddling to stay above water,” Thompson said. “And then suddenly I have practice and games every single day after work, whereas before I was using my time outside of school to plan and read ahead.” 

Coach Corey Burton, who served as assistant coach last season, said he couldn’t put in as much time either.

 “When I came into the program it was a tough situation,” Burton said. “My other job kind of restricted me from putting as much time as I’d like to in the program and I wasn’t as committed.”

Those roles reversed as Burton now serves as head coach while Thompson is the assistant coach.

“It improved our game play as far as effort because he invested more of his time and there is a better coaching aspect because he can control what we do now,” Rebec said. 

The team’s relationship grows stronger through every practice, according to Burton. 

“As soon as the buzzer sounded at the last game of last year’s team, we’ve been in there nonstop conditioning, weight-lifting [and] we’ve gone to some camps over the summer,” Burton said. “In the fall we’ve been in [the gym] three days a week, sometimes four days a week.”

Not only has the team been connecting with each other, they are connecting with their coach.

 “Being a part of something special, impacting people’s lives and holding people accountable and getting the best out of someone is always something I’ve enjoyed doing,” Burton said. 

By Reagan Sullivan