Sports Basketball
Senior athletes say goodbye The seniors on the boys varsity basketball team reflect on their seasons
F
By Grace Carpenter
For some of the boys on the basketball team, this season will be the last time they step on the court. It is the last time they will hear the crowd roaring when they make the shot and and the last time they will feel the excited energy of the high school student body they have known for many years. For some of them, their adventure will continue into college, but basketball will always be a part of every one of them no matter when their journey will end. Ryan Sroka started playing on his driveway when he was around three years old. He started playing for the junior Red Raiders, which was the Huntley feeder team in first grade. In middle school, he played for the Marlowe team in seventh and eighth grade. He then came to the high school and played on the sophomore team his freshman year and then the varsity team his sophomore, junior, and senior years. “It has always been a dream to be on the Huntley team. I used to come as a kid to watch my sister cheer and would end up watching basketball. I have always dreamed of wearing that Huntley jersey,” Sroka said. He has had some internal struggles with his confidence and has doubted himself at times, yet he has always powered through. “That is a part of the game and that is why I like it, because it is not easy,” Sroka said. He loves basketball because it allows him to forget about his stress or anger. “You can just go shoot hoops and it takes everything away,” Sroka said. There are so many good memories he has and the bond he has created with his teammates are going to last a lifetime. “You have to deal with adversity a lot and it teaches you how to be a man,”
Sroka said. He would tell someone striving to be on varsity that it is not easy and it is not given to you. “There are going to be people who doubt you, but just work hard and know that anything is possible,” Sroka said. Hunter French started playing around the age of 4 in the park district leagues. Where he used to live, there were not many opportunities for him to play basketball so he had to travel pretty far. He moved to this area and was able to start playing locally with the middle school and the high school. His goal was to make the varsity team, just like any other player. French broke his right leg in a game during his middle school career. He went up for a layup and was hit by someone which caused him to land awkwardly. He came back to the game after physical therapy and worked hard to get back to where he used to be. “Basketball means everything. Obviously the on-court stuff is going to leave memories but I think the off-court stuff is going to leave more of an impact on me than anything. Like the bus rides, team dinners, and just hanging out with the team. Those are memories that are going to last a lifetime,” French said. He built relationships with every single one of his teammates throughout the season and they impacted him in a positive way. “Everything matters and you never know who is coming up behind you or who is ready to pass you up. You always have to be ready for your opportunity,” French said. Luke DiFrancesca started playing basketball when he was 5 years old. He started by playing at the park district and eventually tried out for the middle school team, but got cut. Freshman year he worked hard, lost some weight,
and made the freshman team; however, he barely played. He has always had a passion for basketball and says it comes with great camaraderie. “Basketball is my escape. It is the only fun thing that I have other than my friends and the people in my life. Basketball is the only thing that is a go-to for me just to do what I love,” DiFrancesca said. He spends a lot of time with his teammates and has a lot of fun with them. He had to grind and work hard to get to where he is. “It is not going to happen overnight. It might take a couple of years, which is what it took for me. It is definitely worth it,” Difancesca said. Ryan Crosby started playing when he was nine. He has played with many different organizations including the feeder team here at Huntley through eighth grade, Epic Hoops during the springs and summers, and Mercury Elite his junior year. His sophomore year, when he was on varsity, but he did not play a lot. It was defeating for him but it ended up working out. He has a condition called Osgood-Schlatters which causes pain in both of his knees. “It is like a family with how close we are and I really enjoy being with them every single day. Whether you have had a bad day or not, seeing your teammates really brightens up your day,” Crosby said. Crosby explained how the varsity team has gotten better throughout the years he has been on the team and how the hard work in the off season made that happen. Crosby even gave a shout out to a younger player who is a junior. “I want to shout out to my boy Link. He never really sees the floor but he is probably the best teammate and is HUNTLEYVOICE.COM 45
