Kevin Moore, a sophomore trying out for varsity basketball, counts down the days with anticipation for the arrival of Saturday, Oct. 16: the mark of the beginning of try-outs.
The thing that is different about this year, he said, is that there are going to be a certain amount of actual cuts. Last year, all basketball player aspirants would try out for varsity, only to get put on the junior varsity team if they did not make the cut. This year, there are a handful of men who will not be chosen for either team, considering there are about 40 some contenders, in which case only 15 players are essentially needed on a team.
Being a walk-on player, as opposed to being recruited for the team, is another nerve wrecking factor that adds to the suspense of try-outs this season for Moore. With about 25 recruited players already in the mix, the anticipation for him and walk-ons alike surely is heightened.
However, his background and experience in high school basketball, as well as being a player for Cabrini’s junior varsity last season, gives Moore a great foundation. “I am going to try and do everything the coaches ask for and focus on playing solid team ball,” Moore said. “I know that the coach is looking for people that listen, follow directions, buy into the system, and they are, of course, looking for talent.”
His basketball-playing days at Lansdale Catholic, the high school in which Moore graduated, not only gave him a good basis. It also gave him the motivation to advance towards college basketball and succeed in doing so. “After high school, I did not feel satisfied with my basketball career and felt like I needed to accomplish more,” Moore said. “Cabrini is a good place to improve myself because of the great players that they have here.”
In addition, Moore’s experience as a junior varsity player during high school instigated his desire to move forward with his Cabrini basketball career, and to maintain old friendships while creating new ones. “I played junior varsity last season and made a lot of tight friends. For the future there will be a lot of memories to look back on,” Moore said.
While Moore desires to maintain his athletic and social standards, he also set certain goals for himself academically. In regards to athletic aspirations, he plans on playing to his potential and wishes to receive respect from coaches and team mates. He; moreover, seeks to academically stay on top of his schoolwork in the midst of everything.
In order to play to his potential, Moore kept himself active over the summer. He did “drills and played pick up games.” He said, “When tryouts come, you have to be mentally prepared, as well as physically.”
Moore has been attending the pre-season work-outs Cabrini has been holding. From this, as well as his experiences last year, he noticed that “the coaching staff works hard on bringing as many talented players as possible so that everyone realizes they have to stay on their A-game all the time.”
As the pre-season work-outs come to an end and the suspenseful try-outs commence, Moore realizes what he has to do and what goals he needs to set for himself. “It has been really intense and everyone is extremely hungry for a spot.”
Posted to the web by Nina Scimenes
