In the past few months, boys basketball has experienced shifts in coaching staff for the upcoming season. Players believe that the new perspective will improve the teams’ overall performance.
“I’m very excited to see what we put together this year,” senior Aleks Smith said.
Smith is a player for the varsity boys basketball team and is eager to start the season with their new head coach Oketah Sackitey, who the boys call “Coach O.”
They have been working with Sackitey since the summer leagues.
“Coach O brings a lot of energy. It’s like something I’ve never seen before,” Smith said.
Sackitey, who also works as a social studies teacher at Souderton, wants to have a positive impact on his athletes.
“I wanted to coach because of the impact that coaches can have on their student-athletes,” Sackitey said.
According to Sackitey, he had a very influential coach in high school and that is what inspired him to begin coaching.
Several of the team members are excited to learn from Sackitey.
“He brings a lot of knowledge. I would love to just learn and get as much from him as I can,” Smith said.
Smith, also feels that the team is more “player run,” but Sackitey is always there to offer support and guidance for things on and off the court.
Sackitey has a set of core values that he wants every player to carry with them after they finish their high school career.
“For the rest of their lives I want these core values to stick with them,” Sackitey said.
Sackitey has six outlined “core values”: work ethic, preparation, we before me, respect, resilience and communication.
“Our core values make us better people not only on the basketball court but off the basketball court,” Smith said.
Both the players and the coaching staff are encouraging students to show out for their games this season.
“We are going to be great this year,” Smith said.
“I encourage students to come to the games. We have a lot of games on Friday nights this year,” Sackitey said. “I would love to see some great attendance. I would love to see fans there.”
Sackitey has enjoyed working with student-athletes so far this year. “It’s been a great experience so far teaching and coaching here,” Sackitey said. ” I’m grateful to be in this position and I’m thankful for great students and student-athletes that I’ve been working with so far.”
According to Sackitey, he feels honored to work with student-athletes that maintain a dedication to their schoolwork and dedication to basketball. “I hope to bring a growth mindset, a culture of hard work, a culture of togetherness and work ethic,” Sackitey said.
The players foresee the team advancing far into playoffs this season.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement from every single guy on my team,” Smith said. “ It’s going to be very exciting to see.”