Emmitt McConville, Giovanni Arrieta, and Shawn Hinrichs all take on State for basketball on March 9th, in Normal, IL. 

With a season filled with hard work and dedication, comes the reward of making it to State. Putting in hard work during the season leading up to the final game of the season will be moments many will cherish forever.

“This basketball season has been great. Our athletes have worked hard on their basketball skills, working together as a team and encouraging each other to do their best. Our practices focused on developing the basketball skills needed to play basketball, dribbling, shooting, and passing the basketball. Three of our athletes, Emmitt McConville, Gio Arrieta, and Shawn Hinrichs  qualified for the state-level basketball skills tournament for Special Olympics Illinois at Normal, IL on March 9th,’ ’said coach Jennifer Sparks. 

When playing a team sport, it comes with many emotions, which are happiness and cheerfulness. Many memories come with playing with teammates and winning games.  

“I’m excited to compete at State. I like to pass and shoot the basketball,’’ said freshman Gio Arrieta. 

Along with memories while playing on the court, “I liked all the basketball games. I really like dribbling the ball. I like playing basketball with my friends,’’ said sophomore Shawn Hinrichs. 

As well, many have their own memories.

 “Some of my favorite memories were making my first three-pointer  in a game, working hard at practice with the team, and my last one has got to be practicing during my lunch hour,’’ said senior Emmitt McConville. 

After a season filled with hard work, hours of practice, and most importantly deduction comes the reward of the offseason. Many athletes take the time to recover from the hard work. Many take that time and still work toward the upcoming season.

“We offer 3 different sports throughout the school year: Bocce Ball, Basketball, and Track & Field. We plan practices to focus on the skills that are needed for each sport,’’ said coach Jennifer Sparks. Along with working individually, taking every chance one can get to get better at the sport they enjoy most. “I plan to keep playing basketball, working more on shooting, dribbling, and also going to the gym to build my vertical jump and work on strength for more power in my shot,’’ said senior Emmitt McConville.

The Three athletes that went to state were all able to take out their best work and watch as all their hard work paid off. 

“Our athletes competed in the State Basketball tournament at ISU also known as  Special Olympics Illinois. They competed in the Individual Skills competition where they were scored on their dribbling, shooting and passing skills. Gio Arrieta placed 5th, Shawn Hinrichs placed 4th and Emmitt placed 1st in their division, said coach Jennifer Sparks”