Students and staff to compete in fourth annual game
By Milo Carr, Reporter
For the past three years, students and staff have come together for an epic basketball face-off. Each year the staff team, headed by government teacher Jason Butler, has stood triumphant over the student team. This year, however, the students are coached by senior Jeremiah Bogaard, and they are optimistic that this will be their year to take home a win for the upperclassmen.
The Staff:
Jason Butler, Matt Tilden, Karah Weber, Kara Sears, Per Lars Bloomgren, Anders Bloomgren, and Heather Jurs.
The Students:
Coaches: Jeremiah Bogaard, Logan Prouse, Ella Wheeler
Players: Sam Zeigler, Kate Kelly, Sydnee Adams, Maya Harrison, Gabe Flanagin, Richard Rivas-Gutierrez, Bladimir Martinez-Arteaga, Sean Robertson, Alex Hitchcock, Hank Rogers, and Cameron Bedard.
Q: How does it feel to be competing against your students/your teachers?
Jurs: “It’s really fun, it’s really fun to see the crowds that come out, cheering for both sides.”
Bogaard: “It’s pretty fun. A lot of teachers have [a] good competitive spirit which makes it fun going back and forth.”
Rivas-Gutierrez: “It’s fun, I think it’s gonna be easy competing against Mr. Butler.”
Q: I’ve never been to a student-staff basketball game before; how does it usually go down?
Tilden: “We have a bit more practice, we have our act together, maybe a little bit, and at least talk about what we’re gonna do … the students tend to just come out and go for it.”
Jurs: “The seniors come out shooting, but I think the teachers do better at staying steady the whole game, and they keep hitting the small points.”
Bogaard: “Teachers normally win by a lot; it’s all fun though.”
Rivas-Gutierrez: “I’ve only been to two, and the staff won [both], so I’m hoping this year we can change that.”
Q: Do you think you’re gonna win this year?
Tilden: “Probably. I mean, traditionally, the students just come out and shoot threes, and they don’t make very many of them.”
Jurs: “Absolutely. No doubt.”
Bogaard: “Yes. I don’t wanna say no just because the team will be sad.”
Rivas-Gutierrez: “That’s the plan.”
Q: Has this game ever impacted how you’re treated by teachers/students? Do they engage in trash talk in the classroom?
Jurs: “They do a little bit, yeah, I haven’t seen as much so I don’t know if they know I’m playing this year, but in years past they have and I think that makes it even more fun.”
Bogaard: “There’s definitely trash talk between teachers and students, but obviously it’s all joking and just fun.”
Rivas-Gutierrez: “Mr. Butler trash talks a lot, he also does it in the classroom, the other teachers just teach their classes.”
Q: Do you think this is an even fight?
Jurs: “I think if there were senior basketball players on the team, it wouldn’t be an even fight either, so it’s about finding a medium ground between those.”
Bogaard: “I do not think it’s an even fight, but despite that, I still think we’re gonna win.”
Rivas-Gutierrez: “I think it’s pretty fair.”
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Tilden: “I don’t see why they’re [confident] this year, I mean they’ve never won in the past. There’s not any reason to think that’ll change.”
Prouse: “I think the staff is gonna be unprepared for our game plan, after winning three times in a row, they are gonna play it lackadaisically, [and] they are not gonna be ready for us. Seniors have a whole new team this year”
Jurs: “Go teachers!”