The start of winter sports is just around the corner. Now the winter athletes of EGRHS will have just one short week of rest before they get ready for the winter sports season for the 2017/2018 school year.

Tryouts for winter sports begin Monday Nov. 13 with the exception of hockey which began on Monday Nov. 30. The options for winter sports are a little more limited than the fall and spring season, but none the less it is an exciting time for all the athletes who are participating. The lineup of winter sports includes boys and girls basketball, hockey, wrestling, skiing, bowling, and boys swimming.

Marty Ward ’18, a senior captain on the basketball team, is anxiously awaiting the start to his final season playing as a Pioneer.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how the team is this year,” Ward said. “All of the players are pretty close so we should have pretty good chemistry on the court which will make it fun to play.”

However, this chemistry didn’t just happen overnight. Throughout the summer the team played in tournaments which improved their relationships and their skills.

“The tournaments brought the whole team closer and gave us a sense of how this season might go,” Ward said.

The hockey team is also excited to be back on the ice and looking forward to a potentially successful season from the help of their new coach.

“I’m very excited to have Coach Christopherson around this year,” senior captain Ben Forstner ‘18 said. “Not only is he a great guy but he knows a lot about hockey.”

This season the boys have a lot of new components that will challenge and benefit them. Aside from the new coach, the boys are looking forward to the addition of junior, Jake Adams, who will be a big asset to this season. The team will also be in a new division. Moving divisions will be a challenge, but the team hasn’t thought twice about it.

“Moving from tier 2 to tier 1 is really exciting because now we will have better competition and face higher competition,” Forstner said.

This winter will be yet another exciting season for East Grand Rapids Sports and the teams are hoping to impress.