Making The Leap

The CB men’s and women’s Varsity basketball teams are experiencing a bit of a youth movement.

With winter sports in gear, fans are starting to see more of a trend with Varsity basketball this year, as both the men’s and women’s teams added multiple underclassmen to their rosters.

The men’s team has added two sophomores, Finn Whetstone (’15) and Taylor Ross (’15), while the girls team added multiple freshman players: Giselle Cantiller (’16), Samantha Earley (’16), Mia Berenguer (’16), Nicolette Washburn (’16), and Dominique McNeely (’16) and sophomore Kira McKechnie (’15).

For Finn, he says the transition to Varsity wasn’t that hard since “[he has] been playing all summer [at that level].”

Taylor sees Varsity as a way to get better and improve for the future.

“Playing varsity basketball is just a way to get better,” he stated. “I’m just working on some little things right now and trying to [develop skills].”

For both Giselle and Sam, they believe Varsity ball is extremely fun, but it does put a lot of pressure and stress on them.

“It puts a lot of pressure on you because of the upperclassman and because the coach expects a lot out of you,” Giselle explained.  “It’s really nerve racking but you get that experience your freshman year.”

For Sam, Varsity has taught her methods of juggling her school work and her practice times so she does not get behind in school.

“It’s stressful because since it’s freshman year and it’s a new start for me, [I have] to figure out how to get to classes and organize my time,” Sam stated. “After school, I have to really plan out my time for practice.”

Neither of the girls would ever give up this opportunity to play Varsity basketball for anything.

“It’s fun because I’m playing with people I haven’t really played with before,” Giselle said.  “It’s more competitive during the games.”

“[What makes it so worthwhile is] playing varsity, being a freshman on varsity and just having that name,” Sam stated.  “Being able to play against people older than me and getting tips from the seniors on the team [is so great].”