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Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | BataviasBest.org
Daniel and the Wheatland-Chili Boys Basketball team has had an up-and-down two years, but the success of their big man has remained consistent. Here is his profile:
Daniel Cook – Wheatland-Chili High School – Boys Basketball
AB: You guys had a tough year this year, and coming off such success last season, was it tough to continue to push through each game?
DC: I would definitely be lying if I tried to say it wasn’t different. Except, I never felt as if it was any tougher than any other sports experience. I believe last year was a great life lesson on how to handle success and prosperity, while this year taught me an even more valuable life lesson on how to handle the inevitable losses that are part of our lives. Every day, whether it was practice or a game, was entered with an open mind mixed an equal amount of confidence and modesty. No matter the situation, I always walked into the gym the same way. On this I may not be able to speak for the whole team, but just showing up each day and playing basketball provided me with more than enough exercise, entertainment, and competition. With the amount of fun I had with a bunch of guys I love, the season was more than worth it.
AB: In the games you did win this season, what do you feel pushed you over the edge in those efforts? In other words, what directly led to your ability to win those games?
DC: I believe the games we ended out on top were won with an extra boost in team confidence. Our biggest problem over the year was seeing the score start to favor the other way and letting our drive start to fade away. No matter how cliche it sounds, our teams biggest enemy was fought in our own heads. The thing was, our three wins weren’t the only games where this drive came out. We had plenty of games throughout the year where we played just as well, if not better, than some of the games we won. To me, our last win at Notre Dame was no upset. The end of our regular season was a streak of games that we did lose, but insured us that we were in for a win soon. It has to be known that just looking at our record itself won’t display some of our best games.
AB: Going forward, what do you see for Wheatland-Chili basketball?
DC: While watching our younger players, even those in 5th and 6th grade, I see nothing but more success in our future. There are bound to kids that fall out of the system, but the least we can do is put the attention to each and every one of them. They are all capable of being a part of a successful team, but I feel as though it starts with who is there to help them. With the right teachers and figures around them, whether they be coaches, friends, or current varsity players, they can become triumphant. Young people use inspirations and older influences to set up their first independent paths. I’m sure that with the men and women working with our kids are going to set them up for future varsity seasons worth watching.
AB: Do you feel the younger guys did a good enough job progressing this season in order to make a larger impact next year?
DC: The sophomores that came up to varsity this year clearly learned a lot. All of them played some games on varsity and some on the jv team so they could all get their turns to test out what varsity basketball feels like. Of course they all struggled here and there, but that’s what learning is all about. Without failure, they wouldn’t have the right motivation to push themselves to be greater. What I loved seeing was how none of them finished the season with the same skill set that they started with. Each of them matured and progressed farther than they may have been expected to. Even the others who stayed on jv all year did their own maturing. I am nothing but confident that they can each learn to bring home some fantastic wins next year. Plus, the fact that almost every boy on the team is going to be a junior next year just means that their senior year should be even more successful. I’m looking forward to hearing about lots of wins over the next two years.
AB: Finally, with the success of the boys and girls teams in the past few years, would you say Wheatland is turning into a basketball school?
DC: For sure. I 100% believe that the Roberts brothers and their years here were the beginning of a plethora of winning seasons. They brought victory back into our basketball program. It’s amazing that we can pass them to the next level and introduce new stars on our boys and girls teams. Our girls just won sectionals this year and there are no signs of any decline in success coming soon for them. Our guys teams are bound to win over the upcoming years with the amount of men that have all been playing with each other for so long. Just like some of the best basketball towns around us, our youth programs are doing an amazing job teaching tons of boys and girls about the game of basketball. This only makes me more positive that victorious seasons and some more sectional banners are sure to come. Wheatland has multiple sports that we are successful in, like soccer, tennis, and cross country, but with all honesty I know that basketball will continue climbing the ladder to become most prosperous sports program that we have to offer.
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Daniel had a solid career at Wheatland and has plenty to be proud of in terms of personal, and team success – especially dating back to last season.
Other articles you may like:
Henry Pflaumer (Elba Boys Basketball) – Winter Sports Spotlight
John Hochmuth (Elba Boys Basketball) – Winter Sports Spotlight
Trey Nadolinski (Oakfield Boys Basketball) – Winter Sports Spotlight
Allen Chatt (Oakfield Boys Basketball) – Winter Sports Spotlight
