Boys’ basketball players (from left) Carter Cunningham, Bryson Forsman, Gabe Hastings, Marshall Grant, Cam Nguyen and Tayler Forsman have been named Scholar-Athletes for the 2017-18 season. PHOTO PROVIDED/DARWIN TERRY
Six Creswell High School boys’ basketball players have been recognized as Scholar-Athletes for maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout the 2017-18 season.
The award is a new one this year, the brainchild of JV1 Coach Darwin Terry. The program’s increased emphasis on grades ”is part of what we’re doing to tie the classroom to the court,” Terry said. ”It’s part of changing the culture. We’re striving to promote good grades as part of good citizenship, life skills and (the players’) future.”
Tayler Forsman, a junior on varsity; Bryson Forsman, a freshman on JV1; Carter Cunningham, a freshman on JV1; Gabe Hastings, a freshman on JV1; Cam Nguyen, a freshman on JV2; and Grant Marshall, a sophomore on JV2 were each honored with a Scholar-Athlete plaque and a pin during the Winter Sports Awards Banquet, held March 6 at CHS.
”The boys’ basketball program is trying to build and create a culture of responsibility and accountability that extends from the court to the classroom,” Terry said, adding that maintaining a 4.0 GPA all season is quite an accomplishment, given the amount of time players must dedicate to practice and away game travel.
”These guys practice every day, they’re coming home late from games, and they’re still able to keep up with their schoolwork and get good grades,” Terry said of this year’s Scholar-Athletes and other players who maintain solid GPAs.
The new award is in line with the set of student athlete expectations developed for the boys’ basketball team by Head Coach Jesse Thomas as part of his commitment to creating not only a winning team and program, but upstanding young men. The core of those expectations is the team motto: ”No Excuses: Accountability, Trust and Togetherness.”
As part of their ”Accountability,” student-athletes are expected to be on time; maintain eligibility, school attendance and academic standards; and represent their family, school and community with pride and professionalism.
The ”Trust/Respect” category includes maintaining respectful attitudes toward coaches, teammates and game officials; being coachable; respectful locker room and bus behavior; good sportsmanship and conduct on and off the court; and more.
”Togetherness” involves bench players staying positive, cheering and supporting teammates on the court; hustling to the bench/coach during timeouts; standing during game and practice huddles; and ”being committed to new ideas, hard work, hustle and team play,” Thomas said.
Miners Graduate Services in Eugene generously donated this year’s Scholar-Athlete plaques. ”But I’d like to see this become a schoolwide award for all sports, that the school promotes and pays for,” Terry said.
