A Successful Basketball Season for the Wolves

This year's basketball season has been a year to remember for our teams, the Wolves!

The girls' team got off to a great start and won the most games ever in program history with a 5-2 record.

The girls' coach Joe Esse noted: "Key to the girls' performance has been continuity. Four of the eight girls have played all three years of the program's existence. They come to every practice and work hard to get better. The 8th and 7th graders, who had already been on the team, all improved significantly. And it was wonderful to see them joined by new players from 5th through 8th grade."

The boys' team also did well with a 4-4 record. Says the boys' coach Lee Gruen:

"Winning is great and helps boost team morale, but it is not everything to our program as we make sure every student gets playing time."

Coach Gruen continues: "You can really see the difference team sports make when you observe how the students interact with each other in the hallways. It is even more special that the Akiba team is a mix of grades (5th-8th). This allows our older players to work on their leadership roles with the younger players."

Coach Gruen also appreciates that the Wolves always have a great audience. The boys' team stays to watch the girls play and vice versa. He says:

"But never have I seen so many teachers come out and support the students at a middle school game. 

At Chai Athletics, we work with many schools, but Akiba by far shows the most support to their students' extracurricular activities by showing up to games."

Our boys' and girls' teams will close out their season February 20-23 in the Jewish Day School National Basketball Tournament hosted by Chai Athletics at Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Until then, please enjoy a clip of seeing the Wolves in action:

Update! Tournament times are:

Thursday, 2/20, 7:30 p.m. Girls, 8:30 p.m. Boys
Friday, 2/21, 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. Boys
Saturday 2/22, 7:30 p.m. Girls
Sunday 2/23, 9:30 a.m. Girls, 10:00 a.m. Boys