On April 25, the staff was triumphant in a staff vs. students basketball game with a score of 24-23. The gym was filled with exuberant student spectators who cheered for their team.
PE teacher Randy Redic chose to participate in the match against the students because he likes playing basketball, he said.
“I’ve played a little bit of ball growing up, and then I coached at Thomas Russell for about two years,” Redic said.
Redic applied defensive techniques in the match, and encouraged others not to be selfish with the ball, he said. This is the first year Redic participated in the staff vs. students basketball game; nonetheless, he did not let that affect his gameplay, he said.
“I’ve seen crowds a lot,” Redic said. “It doesn’t really affect it (my gameplay).”
At the start, the student team did not have many players, so junior Sadhya Kapoor decided to step in, he said. Kapoor is on the varsity boys basketball team, so he had experience coming in, he said.
“I’ve been playing basketball since first grade, competitively since seventh grade,” Kapoor said.
During the game, Kapoor applied some basketball techniques from his experience, but the techniques he used did not cross his mind, he said.
“When I’m playing, I don’t really think about anything,” Kapoor said. “I’m just free flow.”
Junior Ziad Elkordy, who is also on the varsity boys basketball team, played for the students, he said. The game favored the staff, he said.
“It’s like if two high schools are playing, and one of the refs is in one of the high schools,” Elkordy said. “Imagine how that will play out.”
Teamwork and trust between the staff officers led to the staff’s win, Redic said.
“You know, it’s cool,” Redic said. “It’s all fun and games at the end of the day, but it’s nice to walk away with a win.”