On the first week of November, the winter sports season officially began. From the beginning, both the basketball and cheerleading teams had a busy schedule: the basketball teams spent hours per week practicing drills and simulating actual games to prepare for upcoming games, while the cheerleading team practiced coordinating their dance routine and cheers for upcoming games and showcases.
“I believe that the winter sports season will no doubt be a success,” said Tim Munro, varsity boys basketball team coach. “I know that the boys are especially putting in a lot of effort to improve when playing drills and practicing games. In fact, I think the great results we have had so far in all of our games reflect the amount of dedication each athlete has. If all of the athletes continue to practice this diligently, we can definitely look forward to great things.
So far, the basketball teams demonstrated strong performances, winning nearly all of their games. The teams continuously had positive results at the beginning of the season, winning by large margins against international schools such as the Gyeonggi Suwon International School (GSIS) and Dwight Seoul School (DSS). Moreover, the teams maintained their undefeated status in the Korean Basketball Classics, where they beat teams from Chadwick International (CI) and Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS). However, both the girls and boys lost to Seoul Foreign School (SFS) in their most recent game, leaving them to reflect on how to become stronger players in the future.
“I think that our performance so far has been decent,” said Michelle Ahn (12), captain of the girls basketball team. “We have won most of our games so far, and we have been concentrating on maintaining a positive atmosphere in general. However, we still have much area for improvement. Most of our statistics are lower than we hoped, especially when compared to the list of team goals and success percentages we want to achieve by the end of the season. But we are still working hard as a team, so I am sure we will still remain as a strong team throughout the season.”
Meanwhile, the varsity cheerleading team attended all of the basketball games to cheer on the basketball teams and display their choreography in front of large audiences. Furthermore, the cheerleading team is also currently adjusting to several changes that have been made this season. This year, the JV and Varsity cheerleading teams combined into one, which led to the consequence of cheerleaders having to attend a significantly greater number of games. In addition, for the first time in SIS history, the team has two coaches and the cheerleaders are thus attempting to familiarize themselves to effectively listening to the advice of not one, but two coaches.
“Overall, the team is adjusting well to the new changes,” said Hannah Yoo (11), varsity cheerleader. “Having two coaches with previous experience teaching cheer has provided many benefits because both coaches know what feedback to give each member to help all of us improve. Also, although there unfortunately is no JV team for less experienced members to join this year, all of the girls are working extremely hard to meet the varsity standards. In fact, everyone has their unique strength and style, which makes our team all the more stronger.”
Both the basketball and cheerleading teams still have a long season to endure, with many games and showcases coming up in the next few months. However, the fact that both teams have been successful in their performances so far demonstrates the fact that the winter sports athletes have a promising future.