Shoes squeaking from fast paced motions with sudden stops. Whistles being blown to start or end a play. A shouting voice coming from the sideline of the court, to guide the team through to play. Except it’s not a familiar shout for the varsity boys basketball team, it’s a new one.
This year the boys basketball team has a whole new coaching staff including the new head coach who seems to be already making a positive impact to the team. Before coach Travis Erickson was at North Creek he was coaching Mountain View, a 5A school in Bend Oregon. He moved to Washington about 15 years ago, saw the opportunity of the North Creek program starting and wanted to be a part of it. Starting out in assisting all the boys teams then moving to be the coach for the C team then Jv and now to Varsity.
Different coaches have different styles of coaching. Coach Erickson has a certain style of coaching as well. “Being aggressive in terms of playing at a fast tempo, I’m very meticulous about the details. I think the little things matter a ton” said coach Erickson. Travis Erickson doesn’t just focus on the overall game. He will pay attention to small details and to fix them to help improve the team’s performance.
He doesn’t just pay attention to the games and his players playing ability but their character. “In addition, what has really come in the past couple years in terms of passion is to help these students become better individuals, not just student athletes, “ said Coach Erickson. He cares about the team and their personality along with their mental health whilst teaching them the game of basketball.
Overall the boys basketball team is currently 2-1, practices have been going well for them but injuries have been a struggle. Even with all those injuries coach Erickson is still confident in his team this season even saying he feels they could make it to state. “I feel really confident, we’re highly talented and have a ton of opportunities. We could be a team to play in the state tournament, “ coach Erickson said.
