Embedded Files
Senior Boys
Senior Boys
Junior Boys
Junior Boys
(From the Stanstead College yearbook)
Senior Boys
A new league plus a new coach plus a new outlook equals a victorious season. The new coach: Coach Quinn. The new league: RSEQ. The Senior Spartans made great strides this year. With only two returning players, captains Loay Al Rashdi and Richard Legler, the other 11 young men had lots of work to do. The squad was fortunate to have a skilled point guard. Alexis Bernier, and a very dominant, enthusiastic forward, Mikael Zariffe, along with a wily veteran and 3-bailer, Thomas Abbott. Many of the new-to-senior players had a great previous season at Junior: Nick Bowen, Diego Gil, Bill Huang, Guoyao Ma, Michael Ziang and Mike Zhang. Rounding out the newcomers this year were Toby Zhang and Lucas Etienne.
The season started with a bang. After only a short few practices, the team had a couple of league games then went to the CAIS National Tournament in Montreal. Although the team struggled to win games, they were contenders in every match. More importantly, they gained invaluable experience playing teams of much higher caliber than they would eventually see in their league. Other tournaments included the BCS Invitational, the Anderson where they placed second, and the Visser Provincial Tournament.
Highlights of the year have to include the incredible progress we made defensively. We played man defence all year to establish a strong help routine, and then implemented a very aggressive 2-3 zone that enabled the team to almost upset a strong Quebec High team at the Anderson. Finally, the team went into the playoffs as the number 2 seed and played a brilliantly disciplined defensive game to win the league championship finals.
Best wishes to the seniors who made such a great impact on this program. Many thanks to the entire team for their strength, dedication and commitment. Lots of hard work. Lots of laughs. Lots of memories. Well done!
Junior Boys
This year the junior boys basketball team was coached by Mr. McDonald, Mr. Thompson and Vincent Dallard. At the beginning of the season we were all over the court. Some people knew how to play basketball and others didn't, but as the season progressed we became more of a team. We played a total of 10 games and won 3. After playing our first game, which was a home game against BCS, we won without knowing a single play and not knowing exactly what to do with the ball when we had it. As the season progressed our team got stronger and with every team we played we learned how to drive to the basket and not pass back to the three-point line for a shot or to the other team. We learned how to use screens and when to call for one, how to pump fake and how to work together. The practices were long and tiring and almost always finished with Mr. McDonald's foul shot sprints. As we played more and more games the final score went from us losing by 50 to us losing by 7 or by us winning. By the end of the end of the season we traveled to the AAESQ or the Provincial Championships in Montreal hosted by Centennial Regional High School. The junior boys played elimination tournament where the two winning teams would play each other in the finals. We managed to win our first game and finished second over all. This season we started out rough and ended as a true team as we celebrated our wins together and gloomed over our losses together. I would like to thank all my teammates, Mr. McDonald, Mr. Thompson and Vincent Dallard for a great and fun season.
(From the Stanstead College website, November 30th)
Athlete of the week: Richard Legler
Richard Legler has been a vital piece of the senior boys’ basketball team in all aspects of the game. As a returning player, the Grade 12 student has offered leadership and effort, and has become a strong voice for the team to follow.
During the recent CAIS tournament, playing against teams much more skilled and more vertically gifted than us, Richard wasn’t afraid to grind it out in the trenches. He threw his body around, boxed out hard, took a few elbows to the chin and always came back for more. His tenacity and grit under the basket on both the offensive and defensive end of the court has led to Richard leading the team in rebounds and, in most games, points as well.
Some leaders lead by example, some lead with their voice. We are fortunate enough to have Richard, who leads by both.
(From the Stanstead College website, February 22nd)
Athlete of the week: Loay Al-Rashdi
Loay Al-Rashdi of the Senior Boys Basketball Spartans played two of his best games of season and was instrumental in both the semi-final and final win at this past weekend’s RSEQ Div. 3 regional playoffs. The Grade 12 student from Muscat, Oman was a jack-of-all-trades, scoring, defending, rebounding, taking charges and pushing the ball when given the opportunity. In the championship game, it was quickly apparent that Loay would be our go-to player. From the opening tip, Seminaire de Sherbrooke could not handle his speed or his talent. He scored 5 of his team’s first 10 points in the first quarter, and then coming out for the second half, with Stanstead holding a slim 3-point advantage, Loay scored 6 straight points to begin to put the game out of reach. Always there when he is needed — scoring, rebounding, stealing — Loay leads quietly by example and carries his teammates when needed. Well done, Loay!
Report abuse