Hopewell Indians Basketball

The 2012-2013 Hopewell Indians Basketball team consisted of forty-six players! From the previous season, the team grew by almost twenty players! The team was coached by Devin Rivera, with the help of his eight assistant coaches, with myself being included. This year, the Indians were able to produce a 15 and 1 season. Their only loss was in the second round of tournaments in Columbus, the first weekend of March.
The team began the season with practices three times a week, in early November. By mid-December, they started games. Generally they played one to two games per week. The season lasted from December to the last week of February, and tournaments began the very first weekend of March.
The Indians played home and away games. The home games took place at Kids America in Coshocton, as the Hopewell school gym was too small for the crowds that now follow the team. They played away games at surrounding county facilities. Some adventures to other counties were only a half hour bus ride, while others were a two hour bus ride. After away games, it is tradition to stop at a fast food restaurant on the way home, before returning home.
Hopewell won all of their regular season games and the first round of tournaments. They fell short in their second round of the Division II tournaments in Columbus. The team has tremendously improved over the past few years, and next year appears to be a promising year for tournaments.
The team ranges from players that just have an IEP, to players that have physical disabilities. All of the players get the chance to play in the games. Some time may be limited, due to the large number of players. Over forty players is sometimes impossible to rotate into a thirty-two minute basketball game. Although, ninety-nine percent of the time, Devin is able to get every player in some how!
During practices and games, everything is done just like a high school team would do. They run at practices, and the games are structured the same as high school games.
The best part of watching a basketball game, is that all of the players give one-hundred ten percent, they are always smiling and enjoying themselves, and they do not care if they win or lose. They are just there to have fun. I would watch a Hopewell game over a high school game any day!