LYNN — Members of Lynn Classical’s girls basketball program are counting down the days until the regular season. Last winter, the Lady Rams delivered a 14-4 record and captured the Greater Boston League championship.
But that’s the past, and Classical is back in the lab.
“I am very excited for this season,” said coach Tom Sawyer. “This is a time when we are full of promise. We have kids working hard in the gym, kids that want to learn, and it’s really just an exciting time to use the next seven days to get prepared for our season to start.”
For Sawyer, it’s about more than wins, trophies, and all of that. It’s also about progression and mentality.
“I try not to have goals in terms of wins and losses. My goal is to make sure that we are continuously improving throughout the year as a basketball team and as individual basketball players,” he said. “If we can do that and we are better and have progressed during the season… I consider that a successful season.”
But on the hardwood, the Lady Rams have their eyes set on something bigger than the Greater Boston League title. They’re looking to make the state tournament yet again.
“We would always love to win the Greater Boston League again for a third year in a row and we would love to qualify for the state tournament, and I think those things take care of themselves if we continue to progress throughout the year,” Sawyer said.
Classical returns three key seniors who not only perform with the ball in their hands, but lead the underclassmen both on and off the court.
“We return three seniors who have been varsity players for multiple years in Nevaeh Eth, Savannah Tang, and Keisha Perez,” Sawyer said. “We will look to them to lead us on and off the court.”
And if effort and teamwork fall into place, the wins will come.
“We have a group of kids who are willing to work and willing to learn, and as a coach, if we have good work ethic and good attitude, then we have the makings for a good and enjoyable season,” Sawyer said.
Classical takes on traditional archrival Lynn English on Thursday, Dec. 12 with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. in the Classical gymnasium. From there, the Lady Rams look to charge their way through Hamilton-Wenham, Malden, Everett, and Lynn Tech.
Owen Finn is a student at Endicott College studying journalism
