On Tuesday January 28th at 7pm, our Palisade varsity boys basketball team took on a thrilling game against Glenwood with a well deserved win. Palisade’s boys basketball has had an amazing season and every year they work so hard to constantly push themselves and each other to be better players. One of the good things about our Bulldogs is the true talent, but what could be better than being good players on the court? Team chemistry. Every basketball team has the ability to be good players, but not all teams can have the team chemistry that Palisade holds.
On the court, Sophomores Carter Hayward and Aidan Shiao were seen assisting each other, cheering each other on, and constantly being close to one another to help assist a shot. When Hayward was stuck and being guarded with no option to shoot, Shiao was right beside him, ready and open to take on his pass and shoot the ball. Not only are they good team mates, but they are amazing friends outside the team.
After speaking to these young student athletes, Hayward and Shiao talked about their game experiences along with personal things they have connected outside of the game. “I don’t regret anything from the game, I try not to regret anything I do with sports. I feel like everything happens for a reason,” said Hayward. Giving a mental positive energy towards himself and the team. It’s not all about winning, it’s about the experience and the moment that Hayward and Shiao have mentioned. So what helped Hayward achieve this strong mental strength while being a great athlete on varsity since his Freshman year? Hayward says, “keep working hard, find your love for the sport and do it for yourself. In every puzzle, there are multiple pieces, you can’t do it alone and to be a part of the pieces that make the puzzle whole is huge.”
“Winning the game against Glenwood felt like a lot more than winning, winning felt great but building a bigger team chemistry with the win meant even more,” says Shiao. Basketball is a very mental sport as Hayward also implied. Having a big and focused mindset, as these two boys have, is amazing and plays a big role in performance, while taking on a challenging team. Shiao talked about his personal highlight of the game. “I think the biggest highlight of the game was going into the fourth quarter, seeing Jax Bavor going into the game and getting these huge defensive stops for us and giving us momentum and gaining 23-7 in the fourth quarter was just great.” But, Shiao didn’t talk about himself and neither did Hayward. When they talk about highlights and huge moments of the game, it was always about another teammate and watching each other succeed was bigger for them than anything and that never fails to impress. What a powerful and eventful game for the Palisade boys varsity. Keep up the good work, Bulldogs!
