Call it growing pains, call it a learning experience.
Made up almost entirely of Grade 11 players, the Howe Sound boys鈥� basketball team is in the position of squaring off against older, often bigger opposition.
That was the case for this weekend鈥檚 tournament at Capilano College during which the Sounders came up short against opponents from Sentinel, Notre Dame, Carson Graham and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Coaches Toran Savjord and Jens Ourum know that losing now is part of the process of making the team better as the season goes on and into their senior campaign.
Saturday鈥檚 tough, lopsided loss to St. Thomas Aquinas was a good example of how a young team has to keep its composure after getting behind early, especially when the opponents put on the full court press. The second quarter saw the Sounders start with a long scoring drought before forward Taylan Savjord helped jumpstart the offence, though the team continued to fall behind.
Coach Savjord said before the game that he was expecting Aquinas to be tough.
鈥淭hey put a lot of pressure on the ball,鈥� he said.
Early in the third quarter, the pace picked up as the teams started on fast breaks, which can sometimes allow the trailing team to cut a deficit or, as was the case Saturday, can allow the leader to put the game out of hand.
Still, the Sounders showed signs for life, with Marco Pascuzzi warming up late to land some three-pointers and Matias Norambuena hitting from outside, as well as from driving to the basket.聽
Sunday鈥檚 result was much the same, with the team keeping the game close against Carson Graham in the first half before falling behind in the second half. With three starters sidelined, the coaches used the game as a chance to get everyone some minutes.
Friday鈥檚 opening games were closer affairs for Howe Sound. nSavjord said the referee in one of the games made a point of telling him how far along the team had come already over its first few games.聽
The team was down by 18 at one point but managed to bring the margin back to well within single digits.
Against a difficult Sentinel team, the Sounders even jumped out to a lead, but in the end, lost by nine.
Savjord said he aims to find the right times in games to get more players in the rotation to help them develop, rather than simply relying on the starters for points.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to develop more than my starting five,鈥� he said.
The challenge in the meantime is to capture the same energy the players bring to scrimmages during practice time, often against older players, into game scenarios.
鈥淭his team is a really, really great practice team,鈥� Savjord said.聽
鈥淭hey play lights out.鈥澛�
Despite the tough weekend, Ourum explained the team wants to face strong opposition in these early tournaments, even if it means dropping games, because it will help them prepare for their matchups in the North Shore league against schools like Bodwell, Rockridge, Sutherland and Windsor.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l remember every play,鈥� Ourum said.聽
鈥淭hey鈥檒l see what they did well. They鈥檒l remember what they could鈥檝e done better鈥� It might help that they鈥檙e pretty smart, coachable kids.鈥�
For more information on the teams, visit www.sd48howesound.org.聽
