BY SAPNA PATHAK
They play well together, they communicate on offense, and their defense is getting better game by game. They remain undefeated this season and are on pace to win their end-of-the-year playoff tournament.
The only problem: not a single one of them will return to Mark Stewart’s roster come next season.
As head coach of the Bow Memorial School’s boys basketball team, Stewart has no choice but to start from scratch next season; his team is all eighth-graders, and Stewart isn’t ready to think about next season yet.
“It’s always nice to hold on to some seventh-graders because they’ll come back,” admitted Stewart.
“But I think it helps quite a bit having only eighth-graders. It’s one of the first times I’ve ever not chosen a seventh-grader for the team, so we’ll see.”
Though Stewart won’t have any returners next year, this year included a group of six returners who led the team to a one-loss season in 2006. Center Connor Hill leads the group, playing year-round basketball in the hopes of landing a spot on Bow High’s team next year.
Point guard Erik Michaud, Gregg Froleiks, Ryan Hill, Greg Roemer and Max Heindl join Connor Hill as holdovers. Though the team is not a part of any middle school leagues it competes against teams that are.
Tournaments throughout February provide a postseason. As competition levels grow within middle school athletics, Stewart said most of his players are multi-sport athletes.
This being one of the most athletic groups he’s ever coached, Stewart has a nice blend of newcomers and veterans. Busy with five two-hour practices and two games each week, Stewart’s crew still finds time to watch the Falcons play high school ball.
“Once in a while we get out to some games,” said Connor Hill. “I will definitely try out for the team next year, and it’s even cooler because they made it to the finals last year, so we really want to be a part of the varsity team someday.”
Preparation for playing at the high-school level has become a regular part of Stewart’s practices.
Working on more man-to-man coverage and practicing outside shooting drills keep the Wildcats consistent with what’s being done inside the high school gym.
The Wildcats’ success could stem from Stewart’s old-fashioned approach to the game.
“I like an inside game that’s closer to the basket,” said Stewart. “We’re not a three-point shooting team, but that’s not to say we won’t take the shot every now and then. I guess it’s my age that makes us play an older-style game.”
Jokes aside, Stewart’s club has a well-rounded attack – Roemer’s rebounding, Andrew Colquitt’s ball handling and Connor Hill’s versatility.
With a little more than one month left in the season, Stewart’s most pleasant surprise came from rookie center William McKernan, who’s doing something Stewart’s not used to.
“I ask a lot of questions,” said McKernan. “Like, ‘Why are we doing this?’ ‘Can I do this?’ It’s easier to ask more questions because then I can learn what’s going on faster. It’s my first year on the team and playing at this level, so I want to know as much as possible before hitting high school.”