8th Grade Boys Basketball Team
By: BotW
I watched the 8th-grade boy’s basketball practice on Monday, November 25, and it was phenomenal! They really looked like a great team that could really show the spirit of Bryan Middle School. I interviewed several of the new players before the practice to get an understanding of how the teammates worked with each other. Many of the players have already been to the three previous tryouts and a practice, so they were looking pretty confident after getting on the team. Many of the responses to my interview questions were short and sweet such as, “I think we will do great in the coming season”. Many of the players were confident in the team and themselves, such as Ryan Pechous who said, “I’m very excited about our chances, and I think we are looking at a solid well-rounded team” and also when asked how the season will go said, “I think we’re going to win and won’t lose!” and after seeing them practice I have to say he was right. Some of the players that agreed to be interviewed had some great ideas on the team and how to improve it for the games to come.
Jack Tomei:
How do you think you will play this season? Good.
How do you think the season will go? I think we’re going to start off strong and see what we have to work on with each others problems and because of that we’re going to win.
How is the team looking to you? I think they’re looking strong after three practices and we have a lot of the same problems that we can work on.
How do you think you’re doing on the team? how do you think you will do?
I think I will grow as a player and a teammate because of how close we got last year and how we’ll go on this year.
Logan Rice
How do you think you guys will play this season? Good.
Do you think that you will have a chance at winning the conference? Easily.
How do you think you will perform this season? I think I will perform well.
Kevin K.
How do you think you guys will play this season? I think we’ll play pretty good. I think we have a lot of components; we shoot well, and we have a good defense. I think that mixed up together with chemistry, I think that is going to come together into a great team.
Do you guys think you have a chance at conference champs? I think we do. We went to a conference last year, and we have a lot of the same guys on the team; I think this year we are physically bigger guys and there are better ball-handlers on the team, so I definitely think that we have a good chance.
Do you think you will play this season? I think I will play well. I think that a lot of teams run zone defense, and I think that a zone is better for a shooter on the team; we have some good shooters on the team, so I hope I can join them.
Jack Mackay
How do you think you guys will play this season? Well, we got a really good team that Mr. P (Mr.Pokryfke) put together, and I think we'll be able to really go somewhere.
Do you guys think you have a shot at the conference this year? Yes, 100 %, absolutely.
How do you think you'll play this season? I think I’ll play pretty good, I mean Mr.P picked some of the guys for a reason, so he put us in a position where we all can succeed.
The team was close-knit after their experiences on the basketball team in seventh grade and a few in sixth grade, and the teammates knew their strengths and weaknesses. I think this is really important in a team, so they all knew what they had to work on; understanding their own strengths and weaknesses is an awesome skill that I think is very important on a team that will really propel the team through the season. This is just my opinion on the team, but I think the team has a trophy in its future.
By: BotW
I watched the 8th-grade boy’s basketball practice on Monday, November 25, and it was phenomenal! They really looked like a great team that could really show the spirit of Bryan Middle School. I interviewed several of the new players before the practice to get an understanding of how the teammates worked with each other. Many of the players have already been to the three previous tryouts and a practice, so they were looking pretty confident after getting on the team. Many of the responses to my interview questions were short and sweet such as, “I think we will do great in the coming season”. Many of the players were confident in the team and themselves, such as Ryan Pechous who said, “I’m very excited about our chances, and I think we are looking at a solid well-rounded team” and also when asked how the season will go said, “I think we’re going to win and won’t lose!” and after seeing them practice I have to say he was right. Some of the players that agreed to be interviewed had some great ideas on the team and how to improve it for the games to come.
Jack Tomei:
How do you think you will play this season? Good.
How do you think the season will go? I think we’re going to start off strong and see what we have to work on with each others problems and because of that we’re going to win.
How is the team looking to you? I think they’re looking strong after three practices and we have a lot of the same problems that we can work on.
How do you think you’re doing on the team? how do you think you will do?
I think I will grow as a player and a teammate because of how close we got last year and how we’ll go on this year.
Logan Rice
How do you think you guys will play this season? Good.
Do you think that you will have a chance at winning the conference? Easily.
How do you think you will perform this season? I think I will perform well.
Kevin K.
How do you think you guys will play this season? I think we’ll play pretty good. I think we have a lot of components; we shoot well, and we have a good defense. I think that mixed up together with chemistry, I think that is going to come together into a great team.
Do you guys think you have a chance at conference champs? I think we do. We went to a conference last year, and we have a lot of the same guys on the team; I think this year we are physically bigger guys and there are better ball-handlers on the team, so I definitely think that we have a good chance.
Do you think you will play this season? I think I will play well. I think that a lot of teams run zone defense, and I think that a zone is better for a shooter on the team; we have some good shooters on the team, so I hope I can join them.
Jack Mackay
How do you think you guys will play this season? Well, we got a really good team that Mr. P (Mr.Pokryfke) put together, and I think we'll be able to really go somewhere.
Do you guys think you have a shot at the conference this year? Yes, 100 %, absolutely.
How do you think you'll play this season? I think I’ll play pretty good, I mean Mr.P picked some of the guys for a reason, so he put us in a position where we all can succeed.
The team was close-knit after their experiences on the basketball team in seventh grade and a few in sixth grade, and the teammates knew their strengths and weaknesses. I think this is really important in a team, so they all knew what they had to work on; understanding their own strengths and weaknesses is an awesome skill that I think is very important on a team that will really propel the team through the season. This is just my opinion on the team, but I think the team has a trophy in its future.
-Get to Know The Teachers-
Kernel Sanders
Did you know that Mrs. Begani teaches 140 hours a month at Bryan Middle School? That’s longer than walking from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa! She would cook and serve galumpkis, which is a Polish dish that is a meatball with rice wrapped in cabbage with a tomato.
I bet you didn’t know that Mrs. Begani loves chocolate and would choose hot chocolate to order at a coffee shop instead of a smoothie. Italy is Mrs. Begani’s favorite place to travel to because of the food and sights and how amazing the sights are.
Mrs. Begani would want to live in Egypt because of the ruins and pyramids there. Her favorite part about teaching at Bryan is being able to be around students. Being a teacher makes Mrs. Begani happy everyday of her life.
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Ms. Okray is definitely more of a biker than a runner. She likes the scenery whenever she goes out on bike rides. At a sports game, you can spot Ms. Okray with a soft pretzel with no salt, and especially two cups of cheese. Ms. Okray would dye her hair ultra violet because when she was younger, she dyed her hair a similar color. Ms. Okray has two siblings and she loves to scare them. Instead of dressing in a single color for a week, Ms. Okray would wear a dinosaur costume for a day. She thinks that wearing an outfit like this is funnier than a single color. Ms. Okray decided to become a teacher because she always loved to be in school and thinks students are very funny and goofy. Also, Ms. Okray still thinks she is still a child which makes teaching even better.
Kernel Sanders
Did you know that Mrs. Begani teaches 140 hours a month at Bryan Middle School? That’s longer than walking from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa! She would cook and serve galumpkis, which is a Polish dish that is a meatball with rice wrapped in cabbage with a tomato.
I bet you didn’t know that Mrs. Begani loves chocolate and would choose hot chocolate to order at a coffee shop instead of a smoothie. Italy is Mrs. Begani’s favorite place to travel to because of the food and sights and how amazing the sights are.
Mrs. Begani would want to live in Egypt because of the ruins and pyramids there. Her favorite part about teaching at Bryan is being able to be around students. Being a teacher makes Mrs. Begani happy everyday of her life.
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Ms. Okray is definitely more of a biker than a runner. She likes the scenery whenever she goes out on bike rides. At a sports game, you can spot Ms. Okray with a soft pretzel with no salt, and especially two cups of cheese. Ms. Okray would dye her hair ultra violet because when she was younger, she dyed her hair a similar color. Ms. Okray has two siblings and she loves to scare them. Instead of dressing in a single color for a week, Ms. Okray would wear a dinosaur costume for a day. She thinks that wearing an outfit like this is funnier than a single color. Ms. Okray decided to become a teacher because she always loved to be in school and thinks students are very funny and goofy. Also, Ms. Okray still thinks she is still a child which makes teaching even better.