Basketball season has started at Oratory Prep and the students have gone through two out of the three days of tryouts for the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity teams. Tryouts started last Monday and Tuesday and will pick back up on Monday for the final day of tryouts. Unfortunately, not everyone makes it on the team and people will be cut, but this allows Oratory to have a better chance against other teams and makes our team better in the long run. Oratory can hardly wait as we approach a new year of basketball games and tournaments that are sure to energize our school spirit once more.

I had asked a new freshman, Luis Lapenta-Sira, a few questions about his current thoughts about tryouts and his experience overall. Luis has been playing basketball since the 4th grade for his school team and, since then, has practiced regularly and has been dedicated to improving himself so that he could make his family and himself proud. He told me that he enjoyed tryouts and said that the process has shown him what it takes to get onto the basketball team. They have had to do multiple different drills that covered every aspect of the game for the coach to see what they are good at and what they can improve upon. He said he is trying out because he has always loved basketball and hopes to become a better player by the end of the season. As far as the entire team, Luis says that everyone is putting in their 100% effort into these tryouts and are trying to be a positive contribution to the team as a whole. 

Even though the basketball games are just a few weeks away, all the players are trying their best to do what it takes to be on the Oratory basketball team. Everyone is constantly trying to improve themselves and will do whatever it takes to do their part. I have been to many basketball games at Oratory in the past, and the amount of school spirit and energy that the team and the crowd put in shows us what Oratory is all about. We can only expect the best as Oratory starts its first official week of basketball practice.