Student from all campuses come to have fun and prepare for the upcoming season ahead
BY: LINDSEY UNNERSTALL
Sports Editor
An afternoon filled with music, snacks, games and basketball had the STLCC community buzzing for the start of the Archers men’s and women’s basketball season.
On Oct. 22, the Archers basketball teams gathered in the Forest Park campus gym for a jamboree. The event included games, food, music and competitions. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the teams hosted the open gym in hopes of getting the community interested in the sport and ready to support them at their first home game of the season.
“Our two biggest wins last year, we beat the region champions in division one and division two. We beat them and we had our biggest crowds of the year. It makes a difference to our players, and it’s fun,” said Terry Collins, men’s basketball coach.
According to Collins’, interaction between students and the team is what the jamboree is all about.
“Most of our players take classes at Meramec, and then they commute over here for practice. They don’t necessarily see [Forest Park students] in the classroom, so we’re just trying to create that connection,” Collins said.
For shooting guard CJ Lang, this goal was accomplished.
“Great vibes. Everybody was happy, everybody was smiling. DJ had this thing going with the music, and then it was just like a field day in elementary school for everybody,” Lang said.
The Forest Park Campus Life department helped secure snacks, music and a few games for the jamboree while the ideas, execution and pep came from the players– who promoted the event for the past few weeks around the campuses.
“I enjoyed seeing different people from campus. There’s been faculty over, staff, students from all over campus who participated in all of the activities. It was great to see people coming from class to come and participate for a while,” said Donivan Foster from Campus Life.
With all of the energy from the jamboree, the hope is to have the stands filled for the fast approaching games this season. With a strong community and people interested in the sport, the teams’ motivation is already through the roof.
“I feel like we’ve got the right pieces, we’ve got a good team. Everybody wants to win, and we’ve all got the same goal,” Lang said.
The excitement for the teams doesn’t stop here; they are continuing to try to recruit a fanbase and keep energy and spirits high for the rest of this season.
“When the people came in, we had players at the welcome table collecting names and emails. The purpose of that is we’re going to follow up with everyone that took the time to come, and personally invite them to come to any number of games,” Collins said.
As for the players themselves, the event was a big hit.
“Everybody did have fun. I know, on behalf of the basketball team, we all had a good time. We would love to see everybody at the games this season,” Lang said.
