The Golden Secondary School Eagles junior boys basketball team hosted a four team tournament this past weekend, giving them the rare opportunity to play in front of their friends and family.
“I think they enjoy playing at home. It’s good for them, they’re not really used to it, we play mostly on the road,” said Coach Kindy Gosal.
“It would be nice to see more people out watching the game. Of course they like being out on the road too.”
The seven-man Eagles team made it to the final game on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately fell to the squad from Canmore, Alberta. The Eagles controlled the play through the first half of the game, but they traded the lead back and forth with the Crusaders through much of the second half.
“I’m pretty happy with our play this weekend. We learned a lot,” said Gosal. “We had some sluggish points. In the final game, the guys played a great first half, and our second half wasn’t so good. That’s why we lost it, but it’s all a learning experience. They’re improving and that’s what counts.”
The boys have had a strong season so far, and have been working hard to improve their skills.
“I absolutely see a difference from the start of the year,” said Gosal. “We’re a much better team now than we were at the beginning of the season. But the season is long, and these guys need to learn to work through adversity, so that’s what they’re doing now.”
They have played several tournaments so far this year, and Gosal has very happy with the success they’ve had.
“We’ve been playing quite well this season in other tournaments. We’ve only lost four games this season, so I think we’re 11 and 4, or 12 and 4. So we’ve been to Vernon a couple times, and Canmore, and now this home tournament.”
The Eagles also have a few more tournaments coming up. They’ll be in Nelson on Feb. 2 and 3, and then they will be hosting another home tournament on Feb. 17 and 18.
“Then our East Kootenays are March 2 and 3. And depending on how we do, the provincial tournament for juniors is in Vancouver on March 9 and 10,” said Gosal.
