Never take a day off. Well, unless Mother Nature has something to say about it.

Over the first three weeks of the boys basketball season, the team has practiced nearly every day. The team practiced every Saturday and had “optional” Sunday shoot arounds in which most of the team attended. However, the boys were unable to practice after the shortened day on Monday, November 12, and on Thursday, November 15, because of snow.

The attendance on the optional practice days says a significant amount about the players on the team.

“It shows that everyone is committed and that everyone is working together for the same goal,” senior Connor Hartmann said. “We want this to be a season to remember.”

Even though the Owls lost last year’s leading scorer, Michael Schmidt, to graduation, the Owls return the rest of their starting lineup. Last year, Ethan Worley was second on the team with 11.2 points per game, followed by Evan Worley with 9.4 points per game, and  Connor Hartmann with 9.1 points per game. Sophomore Sonny Amabile also expects to play a larger role this season.

“We’re coming back stronger, better, and smarter. We definitely don’t want to be taken as a joke,” Amabile said.

The team is coming off a season in which they finished with an 11-14 record, a mark in which they hope to push well past this winter. Without Schmidt, it creates more opportunities for the rest of the team.

“We hope to continue improving throughout the season and be playing our best at the end of the season, win the conference, win our district, and beat the 17 wins from three years ago,” head coach Todd Dutton said.

Coach Dutton is convinced that his team will thrive throughout this season. The team has come back with a faster team speed, along with more experience together.

“I am very optimistic about this season if we continue to work hard, play together and improve,”  Dutton said.

The only other component the boys are missing is fuller stands. The team hopes to make their games enjoyable, not only for themselves, but all the fans as well. Some of the Owls home games will have a new component–a pep band in the stands.

“We plan to be an exciting team to watch, we have a tough schedule and the team looks forward to playing in front of our fans and the students of Windsor High School. The fans make a big difference and we hope to get their support,” Dutton said.