After an impressive end to the 2022-2023 season with an 80-69 win over the St. Joseph Cadets, the Norwalk High Boys Basketball team prepares to embark on the 2023-2024 season with excitement and determination. While the fans love to see the team’s skillful plays and remarkable shots, they don’t always see the hard work players put in before they hit the court. Preseason is vital in preparing the team for the demanding physicality and skill of basketball. Players run countless sprints, attend early morning practices, and even play on fall-league teams to prepare for their season. We got a first-hand account of the work the Norwalk High Boys Basketball team puts in during the preseason from players Savvas Kodonas and Mitchell Hjelmar.
Senior Mitchell Hjelmar, who has been playing basketball since he was five, told us “basketball is one of the most physically demanding sports out there… if just one of us is not in shape to be playing a full game, it can impact us in ways as big as winning or losing a game.” In order to maintain these necessary physical abilities, players put in the work in the weight room as well as on the court, each time focusing on getting “stronger, faster, and smarter,” as Hjelmar told us. The team begins their preparation over the summer, doing team lifts in the weight room. Additionally, players choose to spend their free time in the summer and fall playing pick-up games with one another. Senior Savvas Kodonas, a three-sport athlete who has been playing basketball for Norwalk High for four years, said, “an average practice for us is very intense, fast paced, loud, and fun overall.”
While of course these are the expectation for every team, a unique feature of the Norwalk boys program is their early-morning practices on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On these three days, the team meets in the gym at 6:00 a.m., using this extra time to get in more reps and prepare for upcoming games. Similarly, the team has a different way of learning plays than many other teams. While most teams have specific set plays where everyone knows where the others are going, the Bears are taught “all the different options that we could possibly do,” as Mitchell Hjelmar told us. This includes going over when and where to play out each option, which takes an immense amount of time and effort, as well as a high game IQ. Hjelmar said that one of Coach Hickeys most famous quotes is, “Don’t be robots, go play our game of basketball.”
Both players told us that one of their favorite parts of the preseason is being able to spend time with their teammates while simultaneously building the team chemistry. Hjelmar described their open gym nights at Ben Franklin, in which all past and present players can attend to play games with one another. He said, “Everyone’s favorite part is the friendly trash talking that goes on after beating one of your friends/teammates.” While this team works incredibly hard, they are clearly still having fun in the process. We wish the boys good luck in the upcoming season, and can’t wait to see how all of their hard work in the preseason has paid off!
