Coach Mark Janes’ Basketball Season Update
by Coach Mark Janes
Season Update
The Sea Otter Boys High School Basketball Team is entering the homestretch of the regular season with only 5 games remaining out of our 20 game season. These games are going to be the most important and will determine the seeding at our regional tournament. We have an overall record of 9 wins and 6 losses and within our region we are 6 and 0, placing us behind a Nikolaevsk team that we play twice in the next 2 weeks.
All of our loses come from games with bigger schools. When putting together our schedule last year, I scheduled some tough competition against 3A varsity and 4A JV squads early in the season. I wanted to get the Otters exposure to the next level of basketball competition and have them strive to match it. They have been greatcompetitors. The coaches and fans of the teams we’ve played have complimented the skill and effort our team put forth. One coach of a 3a varsity team admitted that after sizing up our team during warm ups he was afraid for us because his team was big and physical. We had that team tied at the half and down by 7 point mid way through the 3rd quarter, before they out muscled us for the win.
Seldovia Tournament
This weekend is the last time you will get to see the teams play at home for the year. We are having a boy’s tournament in Seldovia with Nikolaevsk, Nanwalek and Cook Inlet Academy coming over on the Thursday ferry. The CIA girls are also coming to get in a couple of games. We need help putting on a good show. The O’Learys are cooking the whole weekend to feed the teams and others are pitching in. Please contact Sandy at the school, Tiffany, or me if you can make the time to make this happen for our kids and community. We need volunteers to run the clocks, do the books, man the gate and a whole bunch of other stuff.
These games are shaping up to be a pre-“regional tournament” tournament with each team in position to make a run at getting one of the two spots to go to the State Championship. It should make for some exciting basketball.
Web Casts and Web Pages
If you haven’t, you should be watching our away games via the web. I have made the effort to make the games available on a webcast. My priority before a game is to make sure the team is ready to play, but if I have time, access to the Internet and someone to operate the camera, I have tried to get the games online “Live” for the community. If we have a game scheduled you can click on the link here and there is a chance I will have it on- http://www.ustream.tv/channel/seldovia-basketball.
I would encourage you to click on the following link and look at the ASAA365 website to see a recap of our game scores thus far and our upcoming schedule for the remainder of the season.
Practice
The team is now working from 5-7pm for the remainder of the season. Additionally I have been and will continue to open the gym in the morning at 7:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for individual skill building practice. This is optional, but really great practice for those who want to elevate their game and prepare for regions and State Tournaments. Games during these tournaments are scheduled in the morning as early as 8am so having a few early morning practices will help in preparing the team.
Regional Tournament
The Peninsula Conference Tournament will be held in Soldotna at the Skyview gym from March 4-8th. We are working out the final details of lodging and the schedule. We will have more information later. The tournament committee needs help running clock, doing books and taking the gate. As a community we should try and make sure we contribute/volunteer to make this a great experience.
Next Year-
Next year will be even better than this year. We aren’t scheduled to lose any players, except for Souleymane, which will be a loss. I have been in contact with Frank Ostinak about participating in the Alaska Basketball Academy Team Camp in early June. This program offers each team a lot of games and exposure to schools and coaches we wouldn’t regularly see. I hope we will have enough players available, but we may combine a team with other Peninsula teams to make a good showing. I will need support in getting the team there and coaching. We will work out details later. Also, I have requested to be part of the mid December JV tournament at Chugiak that happens prior to the Christmas Break. It is good competition early in the season.
The big highlight will be our participation in the Nenana Invitational Tournament in early February. This tournament brings together some of the best talent from around the state.
Finally, I would like to look at ways to elevate the Seldovia Tournament into a bigger community event. I think it is important for the basketball program that we make a big deal of bringing in quality competition and having a great time showing off our community. If you would like to help, please come to Booster Club meetings and give us your input.
I am looking forward to the remainder of the season. It should be exciting and I will be working to have our team elevate their game and be competitive in every game we play.
Thanks for your support and if you have any questions or input, please feel free to contact me. Mark Janes- mailto:seldoviabasketball@gmail.com
Category: Sports
Seldovia Time
