Made up of both new and returning players, coach Brandyn Pedersen is looking forward to what this team can do this year.

“The team will be honing defense and effort skills this season,” Pedersen responded when asked what skills they will be working on.

He explained to the Journal in his first year of coaching that he has been drawn to basketball since his youth. Pedersen himself began playing basketball in Kindergarten at the Gonyea Boys and Girls Club. During his first year as head coach, Pedersen explained to the Journal that his coaches told him that basketball could teach life lessons.

“As I grew up, I started seeing the correlation between the sport and becoming a young man. It teaches accountability and through life, we are all teammates in some way, whether it’s coworkers, family members, or friends,” he said.

What he learned about basketball from his coaches, Pedersen said, was relatively small compared to what he learned in life lessons.

“I try to attach it to what it means in the real world.”

This year they are a relatively young group, but according to Pedersen, they are already picking up not just basketball, but life skills early. “That, honestly is what keeps me coming back,” he smiled.

Pedersen is most excited about the team’s opportunity and development, “I coached this Senior Group in their first year in JV,” Pedersen explained. He has been watching those same players return each year, growing and increasing skill sets, bettering their game each season. The team this year consists of both new and returning players, according to Pedersen, who noted “We have a good mix (of skills) with some important upperclassmen leadership.”

Pierce Kleine is one of those upperclassman. Kleine is an all-around athlete, including football and baseball among other sports.

Besides the thrill of the games, the camaraderie with his teammates keeps him playing.

“My goals this basketball season are to have fun with my friends since it’s my last year, and try to go as far as we can,” Kleine said.

Orcas is at the top of his list of teams to beat.”They are kind of our rivalry. I think we need to work a little bit more on defense and setting up an actual offense, but I think that will come later down the road,” Kleine said, adding that it is early in the season.

When asked if there were any players he wanted to give a shout-out to, Pedersen said “I want to shout of the team of young men that have shown up and put in the work in the early season to have a successful season,” adding that with the variety of athletes on the team this year, each with their own unique play styles all coming together, giving the team the “possibility to create something really special,” Pedersen said.

They will be playing against Toledo High Dec. 21 at Toledo High, and against Granite Falls Jan. 4 at Granite Falls. The next home game will be Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m. in the Turnbull gym. Visit https://fhwolverines.com/events for the full season schedule, or to check for any chan