The winter sports season including boys and girls basketball and bowling are right around the corner. After playing a partial schedule last year with limited fans, the winter sports athletes are ready for a full 2021-22 season.

Girls’ basketball is coming off a Metro Championship and undefeated season. The embodiment of their hard work in the form of a trophy rests in its glass case. However, Coach Elsner, the 4^th year  head coach, said “While the trophy sure looks good in the trophy case, the highlight was seeing the commitment the players made to each other. They navigated online school, hybrid school, athletics, family, COVID protocols, rescheduled games weekly, and still made amazing strides and growth as a group from the beginning of the year to the end. It was awesome.”

The Panthers plan on playing an up-tempo style this year, pressuring people on defense for the entire game, pushing the ball up and down the floor, and shooting a ton of 3-point shots. The Metro League is extremely competitive again this year and the team could use the student support especially on Wednesday and Friday nights during league play. So, remember to support the Girls basketball team at McHugh gym, wear your Panther blue, and get rowdy!

Boys’ basketball also had great success in the COVID shortened season, winning all but one game and securing a Metro Championship. After playing in near-empty gyms in 2020-2021 Coach Kelly, entering his 17^th season as the boys’ basketball head, said that he and the team are most excited for the fans to flood McHugh gymnasium for the games, “I think all the coaches and players look forward to having our Panther student section back. We like to refer to it as the Panther Pit. Right behind our bench, loud, and creating a legitimate home-court advantage.”

Kelly is “…really interested to see if COVID had put a dent in that advantage or if our students, led by our seniors, will be out in full force. They have often been the talk of opposing teams and I’m excited to see if this year’s seniors will carry that tradition forward and pack the gym.”

The Panthers open with a challenging schedule, playing Garfield, Rainier Beach, and Nathan Hale out of the gates. The team ends the season competing against O’Dea and Eastside Catholic; in between the team travels to a national tournament in San Louis Obispo. Kelly wouldn’t have it any other way, “We have a very difficult schedule and love it.”.

The Seattle Prep Bowling season is right around the corner, as the Panthers head into their 6^th season. Seattle Prep Bowling competes with 10 other schools in the Metro League. The team has a maximum size of 20, due to the number of lanes available for practice. Only 5 players can compete in a given match and each match includes two games. Seattle Prep has done extremely well over the past five seasons, winning two district tournaments in that timeframe. Even with COVID in the way, last year, the Panthers finished 9-4 and finished second in the Metro League. The team plans on another competitive season and is utilizing the same positive energy from the first 5 years. The bowling team practices at West Seattle Bowl and practice started on November 1.

Coach Massoth, the founder of the bowling program at Prep and the head coach, would love to see some fans attend some matches, “Let’s pack WSB (West Seattle Bowl) and support our four awesome Senior returners and future bowlers who has never bowled before!”. This season the bowling team hopes to win Metros and continue their winning tradition.

Last but not least, boys swimming and diving also starts up in the Winter. Coach Andy Bernard has been the program’s head for boys swimming and diving for 4 seasons and is now in his 8th year with the program. The guys are beyond excited for practice and the meets and, hopefully, they will qualify for state. The team has high hopes for this year and Bernard states, “I’m really focused on having fun, and cultivating some of the competitive atmospheres that we didn’t get to have last season. I also would like to see us get all three of our relays to qualify for state.”

Last season, because of the pandemic, the team did not have an opportunity to have in-person meets or postseason competitions. Although it was still fun and the swimmers showed improvement, there was ultimately less energy. There will be dual meets this year but, unfortunately, fans won’t be able to attend. For those fans who want to attend the meets, there are openings for volunteers to help, which includes running the meet and timing for lanes. Boys swimming is a no-cut sport and coach Bernard welcomes those who are “new to swimming or have been doing swim team your whole life”; the coaches would love to have new swimmers join the team. Good luck boys swimming and diving!

Make sure to keep an eye out for tryouts and specific winter sports information in the next few weeks. And, with the fans back in the stands and full sports athletic schedules happening this winter, let’s pack McHugh Gym for the boys and girls contests this season. For those of us who have never seen a Prep bowling match, make a point to catch a game at West Seattle Bowl and volunteer at meets to support the boys swim team.

Did someone say boys swimming and diving? Last but not least, boys swimming and diving also starts up in the Winter. Coach Andy Bernard has been the program’s head for boys swimming and diving for 4 seasons and is now in his 8th year with the program. The guys are beyond excited for practice and the meets and, hopefully, they will qualify for state. The team has high hopes for this year and Bernard states, “I’m really focused on having fun, and cultivating some of the competitive atmosphere that we didn’t get to have last season. I also would like to see us get all three of our relays to qualify for state”. Last season, because of the pandemic, the team did not have an opportunity to have in-person meets or postseason competition. Although it was still fun and the swimmer’s showed improvement, there was ultimately less energy. There will be dual meets this year but, unfortunately, fans won’t be able to attend. For those fans who want to attend the meets, there are openings for volunteers to help, which includes running the meet and timing for lanes. Boy’s swimming is a no-cut sport and coach Bernard welcomes those who are “new to swimming, or have been doing swim team your whole life”; the coaches would love to have new swimmers join the team. Good luck boy’s swimming and diving!