In the locker room, on the court

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Tommy Stolpestad

Players listen closely as the coach talks game plan.

On most nights in the winter, the members of the boys’ basketball team are some of the last people to leave Saint Paul Academy and Summit School. This night was no different. The team was focused, practicing to go against conference rival, Breck, the following evening. The practice reflected how much the team wanted to beat Breck. After staying a few minutes after practice to get in a few more reps, the team headed to the locker room. The mood of the team almost immediately shifted from focused to relaxed. For the boys’ basketball team, the locker room is a place to loosen up and build bonds as a team. It is a place for them to get to know each other off the court and become a more cohesive unit.

Junior player, Griffin Thissen, shares his thoughts on time spent in the locker room, “It’s just a good bonding time whether it is preparing for a game and getting hyped, talking strategy, or just getting to know what’s going on in everyone’s lives”.

It is clear that the locker room is a versatile space that is at the heart of the basketball team experience. Junior Alex Hermann describes what makes the locker room so important for him, “It’s just a great space where you can talk to teammates and get to know people. Having a special space like this to ourselves really helps us play better as a team on the court”.

For the Spartans boys basketball team, the work that is put in on the court is only one aspect of how they can be successful. The bonds made in the locker room add to the experience on the court and make it a genuinely enjoyable experience. As said by Griffin Thissen, “The times we spend hanging out in the locker room are memories that will stay with us after we are done playing for SPA”.