This team has started the season like no other! Fighting through adversity, creating new strategies, and implementing new players, the Ipswich High School Boys basketball team is on a historic run this season. 

The Tigers have had a very rough go in the past years. Through 18 seasons, the tigers have not come up with a positive record yet. The last time that they had done so was in the 2007/8 season, holding a record of twelve and ten, under the coaching of Doug Woodworth, a highly respected and honored Ipswich Coach. After constant struggle, this year coach Laroche and the team has really found a rhythm. The lads have taken a winning record, beating teams that have given them trouble in the past.

With injuries playing a key role in many of the shortcomings of the past seasons, the Tigers were very cautious about the playing and practicing of the team. This year, they have taken extra precaution, bringing out players who seem to have any discomfort immediately. The injuries have not stricken the Tigers. Unlike last year, with point guard Rex Satter out, or the year before with shooting guard Isaiah Gonzales’s senior season being robbed, the Tigers have remained healthy and confident. This year’s captains, Vin Winter, a senior, Trevor Manning, a junior, and Rex Satter, another junior, have credited their success to the hard work and determination of the team. 

Vin said, “We have really clicked; everyone is stepping up. From Anderson getting boards to Trevor’s finishing and more, everyone is really locked in”. Other players felt the same way about the shift in energy this season. 

Others talked about coach Laroche’s energy this year, with Vin also mentioning that his coaching “has been great, shifting the energy to a positive manner when it is often easy to be negative”. This success brought coach Laroche to his 100th win this year, blowing Whittier Tech out of the water.  

Although much of the season remains, the Tigers are confident in their team, improving by the day. They look to continue their winning streak, and to bring the team into the playoffs for the first time in years. With the success and leadership by the captains and players, we are all confident that the team will continue to do great things.