Taiya Baraka
What are your feelings about the upcoming season? I am excited for the upcoming season, especially because it’s my last year.
How long have you been playing? I have been playing basketball since I was in 2nd grade.
What is your position on the team? I am a guard, so I shoot or take the ball.
Which game(s) are you most excited for? Why? I’m excited for all of them to be honest; each game is something different to look forward to.
What do you hope to achieve this season? Why? I hope to get better on my own, as well as with the team. I hope that we have a good record and season this year.
What are your biggest challenges to begin the season? Why? My challenge may be just getting back to basketball since I didn’t play last year. Other than that, there are really no challenges.
Do you have mixed emotions about being a senior? How are you feeling about this season being your last? I have mixed emotions for sure; it is sad and overwhelming but also happy at the same time. I am upset that this is my last year though, that is for sure.
What are your plans after high school? I’m leaning towards going into the military right now.
Do you plan on taking your athletic career to the collegiate level? Why or why not? It all really depends on how the future goes. I would like to continue in college, but we will see what the future holds.
What has been your favorite memory from your years of high school basketball? My favorite memories are probably the games that we win with a fight. Those are always the hardest, but also the best games in the long run that you will remember for a lifetime. Just playing with your teammates and having all the adrenaline is so surreal; it really is stressful but so nice in the end.
Lexie Hanna
What are your feelings about the upcoming season? I am super excited about the upcoming season! Basketball season is always a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see what this year brings!
How long have you been cheering? I have been cheering for 9 years since I moved here in 4th grade.
What is your position on the team? I am the co-captain of the cheer team.
Which game(s) are you most excited for? Why? I am most excited for senior night, but I also enjoy the Poland games. They are always a lot of fun and many people come to participate in cheering the players on. It’s a fun time to be at these games, and I’m excited to see how the rivalry goes this year.
What do you hope to achieve this season? Why? I hope to just have the best time possible this season. I want to enjoy every second that I have left participating in activities here.
What are your biggest challenges to begin the season? Why? The biggest challenge is practicing for competitions that we might have during the winter. It’s been a struggle getting practice time, and the team has had a hard time getting time to work on what we want to do.
Do you have mixed emotions about being a senior? How are you feeling about this season being your last? I do have mixed emotions. It’s exciting being a senior and being in charge of certain things within a team, but at the end of the day, it is sad that many of the things I’m doing are for the last time. Sadly, this is my last season, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and I’m happy for the experiences I’ve gotten.
What are your plans after high school? My plans after high school are to attend Bowling Green State University for Forensic Science.
Do you plan on taking your athletic career to the collegiate level? Why or why not? I do not have plans to do cheer or tennis while in college. Although I love both, I think it’s important that my sports end in high school, so I can fully devote myself to doing my best academically in college.
What has been your favorite memory from your years of high school basketball? Elaborate a little. My favorite memory has been the game last year where we were three points down, and Austin shot a three-pointer last second, throwing us into overtime. This was a great moment because everyone got so excited and was jumping around. It was overall a great experience and something that nobody expected. I’m so excited to see what other good memories this year brings.
Andrew Kopnicky
What are your feelings about the upcoming season? I’m really excited for this upcoming season. There is nothing like being able to play with your friends.
How long have you been playing? 8 years
What is your position on the team? I play forward.
Which game(s) are you most excited for? Why? Both Poland games, just because it’s our rival. But I am also very excited for the Howland game because they knocked us out of the playoffs 2 years ago.
What do you hope to achieve this season? Why? We all have the same goal of winning the league and competing for a district championship. Because it’s been almost 4 years since we last won districts, it will be a great accomplishment.
What are your biggest challenges to begin the season? Why? The biggest challenge we have to begin the season is the turnovers. If we limit the turnovers, we can be a very good team.
Do you have mixed emotions about being a senior? How are you feeling about this season being your last? I’m very excited to start my senior season, but there is a part of me that is kind of sad because this will be my last season ever and you will be going from seeing the same people everyday for like 5 months straight to barely seeing them at all.
What are your plans after high school? If I get a scholarship to play basketball somewhere then I might, but if not, I will go into a union and get an apprenticeship to become an electrician.
Do you plan on taking your athletic career to the collegiate level? Why or why not? If I get the opportunity to be able to play somewhere, then yes, but if I don’t, then no.
What has been your favorite memory from your years of high school basketball? Elaborate a little. The bonds you build with your teammates. I’m still friends with my teammates from my sophomore year and most of them are away for college.
Grady Moore
What are your feelings about the upcoming season? I believe that we will be a good team this year, not only because of the guys we have but because of how well we are coached too.
How long have you been playing? I have been playing on an actual team since the 4th grade but I’ve had a basketball for as long as I can remember.
What is your position on the team? I am a co-captain, and I play the point guard position.
Which game(s) are you most excited for? Why? I am most excited to play Poland, just because they are our rival, and it’s always a fun game.
What do you hope to achieve this season? Why? I hope to achieve a league championship because I do not want the standards to change just because we are a young team.
What are your biggest challenges to begin the season? Why? Right now, our biggest challenge is ourselves. Especially myself, I get into my head very badly. It not only makes me play worse, but the people around me as well.
Do you have mixed emotions about being a senior? How are you feeling about this season being your last? Yes, I am very excited for my senior year, but I am also very nervous too.
What are your plans after high school? I plan on being a finance major and a business minor. I plan on becoming a financial advisor and continuing my athletic career somewhere If I can.
Do you plan on taking your athletic career to the collegiate level? Why or why not? I plan on it because being an athlete helps you get through school because you’re not constantly worrying yourself; you at least have time to escape your thoughts and regroup. Also, being an athlete can help with the cost of college significantly.
What has been your favorite memory from your years of high school basketball? Elaborate a little. My favorite memory is not just one individual thing; it’s a number of things. Although I wasn’t a starter last year, just sitting on the bench and watching was truly a gift. Hearing my name get called last year was the greatest feeling I ever got. Struthers has turned basketball into so much more than a sport to me, basketball is a way of life. Growing up with my classmates, maturing, laughing and working hard in the gym all the time has become so much more to me than just a silly sport. It has made me a man I never believed I could become.
Emma Morris
What are your feelings about the upcoming season? Excited, I’m looking forward to learning to play with a whole new team and have fun during my last year at the high school.
How long have you been playing? I’ve played basketball for Struthers since 3rd grade, but I first got introduced to it around age 7.
What is your position on the team? I am the captain and play point guard.
Which game(s) are you most excited for? Why? I’m most excited for Poland. Our team always gets really excited to play them, and it’s always a game where everyone is playing with 100% effort.
What do you hope to achieve this season? Why? I hope that this season (as a team) we learn to play for each other and to the best of our ability, despite being overall very young as a team. Individually, I hope to lead the team the best I can and set a good example for my teammates.
What are your biggest challenges to begin the season? Why? As a team and personally, not playing at all over the summer set the team back quite a bit. Having those reps in the summer are crucial to get back into the season knowing your teammates and how to play together. Because we didn’t have a head coach for a majority of the summer, no one played as much as we normally would, so the first few games we will have to catch up.
Do you have mixed emotions about being a senior? How are you feeling about this season being your last? I have very mixed feelings about being a senior, I am very ready to move onto college and graduate; however, I will miss playing with my teammates in both my grade and the ones below me.
What are your plans after high school? I plan on attending college to study psychology and possibly play one or two sports.
Do you plan on taking your athletic career to the collegiate level? Why or why not? Yes, the colleges I’ve looked at are all D3 which means that the practices and games will be manageable with my education while still giving me the opportunity to continue my athletic career. I enjoy the community feel that sports brings and the lessons it teaches you, with the bonus of keeping you in shape mentally and physically.
What has been your favorite memory from your years of high school basketball? Elaborate a little. My favorite memory from highschool basketball is that my childhood best friend, Ava Hall, tried out for our last year playing in high school after not playing for the last few years. I was going to be the only senior until her and Tayia tried out, so even though them playing is still in the future, I was very excited to play with two other girls I played with in middle school and freshman year for our last year in high school.
