T H E S T O R K S T A K E F L I G H T
By SEDGE L.
April 23, 2013
Two years ago, if anyone had asked, “Do you think that this team is going to make it to the finals?” you would have been hard-pressed to find any
answer other than an absolute, unequivocal “No.” Yet here they stand a mere two years and two months later, the Hyogo Storks, proud and united, the
2012-2013 JBL2 Champions. The hard work of every member of the Storks organization has most definitely paid off, from their dedicated players and
management to the coaching staff, with Canadian Academy’s own BT Toews at its head. Indeed with the Storks boasting a championship title and a
season-best record to boot, now is the perfect time to look back on what has made this team so great.
First and foremost, a crucial part to this team’s success was their defensive mindset. For the Storks, the key to making it through the season and
through the finals was their defense. While six Storks players do average double figures on offense, they are, as Coach Toews pointed out, “a
defensive team first,” holding their opponents to a mere 38% shooting on average. Rather than focusing on becoming an amazing offensive team,
Coach Toews from the very start knew a defensive approach was more practical. The ingenious part behind such defensive based play is that, instead
of attempting to outscore an opponent who would have roughly the same number of possessions as you, a defensive team would get stops which
would provide them with even more opportunities to score. Simply put, no matter how honed your offense is, at the end of the day, the other team
always gets the ball after you score. Naturally, as a team improves its defense, the likelihood that they’d get the ball back without the other team
scoring increases significantly, giving them the opportunity to score again. In the finals, this defensive mindset paired with fantastic rebounding gave
the Storks the necessary edge to come out on top.
Secondly, one of the keys to the Stork’s rapid and impressive development is the team’s consistency. For the Storks, what had worked throughout the
whole season was boards and defense. With the mentality that if you played good defense and rebounded well, the buckets would come, the Storks
won 27 games and lost only 5 games. Therefore, when the finals came around, the game plan was the same, boards and defense. The Stork’s players
proved Coach Toews’s point that, during the finals, “it’s too late to do anything new, you can’t rethink yourself.” So, when the JBL2 2012-2013 finals
ended, without doing a single thing differently, the Hyogo Storks won the championship with a consistency that would have made San Antonio Spurs
coach Greg Popovich proud.
Lastly, the team’s dedication to the Hyogo community served as motivation for their exemplary achievements. From radio programs to basketball
clinics to hospital visits, the Hyogo Storks have become an integral part of our local community. One of the most important sections in the Storks
organization is the service they do for the Hyogo community. Coach Toews puts it best, explaining that “just the fact that Hyogo kids can identify with a
team that isn’t just wearing a pro uniform and losing games, but winning and being successful, makes this team so much more than a group of men
playing a game they love.” The connection isn’t one-way though – just as citizens of Hyogo are inspired by the Storks hard work and success, the
Storks are motivated by their adoring fans. These athletes’ dedication to their community really shows just how much the Storks won the finals not only
for themselves, but also for the citizens of Hyogo.
Ultimately, while no CA high school students could feasibly make it to this level of play at this age, our elementary students are not completely out of
the running. With proper dedication, passion, and focus, it is possible that a CA student could play at this level. If nearly any elementary student could,
albeit in the future, reach such a level that his or her skills could inspire others, just as the members of the Storks have inspired the Hyogo community,
then perhaps we all need to evaluate why we are not inspiring and being inspired on a daily basis. Maybe we all just need to try and take a step
towards that coveted consistency. Even if the only thing we can consistently do is smile, that smile might just be enough.
answer other than an absolute, unequivocal “No.” Yet here they stand a mere two years and two months later, the Hyogo Storks, proud and united, the
2012-2013 JBL2 Champions. The hard work of every member of the Storks organization has most definitely paid off, from their dedicated players and
management to the coaching staff, with Canadian Academy’s own BT Toews at its head. Indeed with the Storks boasting a championship title and a
season-best record to boot, now is the perfect time to look back on what has made this team so great.
First and foremost, a crucial part to this team’s success was their defensive mindset. For the Storks, the key to making it through the season and
through the finals was their defense. While six Storks players do average double figures on offense, they are, as Coach Toews pointed out, “a
defensive team first,” holding their opponents to a mere 38% shooting on average. Rather than focusing on becoming an amazing offensive team,
Coach Toews from the very start knew a defensive approach was more practical. The ingenious part behind such defensive based play is that, instead
of attempting to outscore an opponent who would have roughly the same number of possessions as you, a defensive team would get stops which
would provide them with even more opportunities to score. Simply put, no matter how honed your offense is, at the end of the day, the other team
always gets the ball after you score. Naturally, as a team improves its defense, the likelihood that they’d get the ball back without the other team
scoring increases significantly, giving them the opportunity to score again. In the finals, this defensive mindset paired with fantastic rebounding gave
the Storks the necessary edge to come out on top.
Secondly, one of the keys to the Stork’s rapid and impressive development is the team’s consistency. For the Storks, what had worked throughout the
whole season was boards and defense. With the mentality that if you played good defense and rebounded well, the buckets would come, the Storks
won 27 games and lost only 5 games. Therefore, when the finals came around, the game plan was the same, boards and defense. The Stork’s players
proved Coach Toews’s point that, during the finals, “it’s too late to do anything new, you can’t rethink yourself.” So, when the JBL2 2012-2013 finals
ended, without doing a single thing differently, the Hyogo Storks won the championship with a consistency that would have made San Antonio Spurs
coach Greg Popovich proud.
Lastly, the team’s dedication to the Hyogo community served as motivation for their exemplary achievements. From radio programs to basketball
clinics to hospital visits, the Hyogo Storks have become an integral part of our local community. One of the most important sections in the Storks
organization is the service they do for the Hyogo community. Coach Toews puts it best, explaining that “just the fact that Hyogo kids can identify with a
team that isn’t just wearing a pro uniform and losing games, but winning and being successful, makes this team so much more than a group of men
playing a game they love.” The connection isn’t one-way though – just as citizens of Hyogo are inspired by the Storks hard work and success, the
Storks are motivated by their adoring fans. These athletes’ dedication to their community really shows just how much the Storks won the finals not only
for themselves, but also for the citizens of Hyogo.
Ultimately, while no CA high school students could feasibly make it to this level of play at this age, our elementary students are not completely out of
the running. With proper dedication, passion, and focus, it is possible that a CA student could play at this level. If nearly any elementary student could,
albeit in the future, reach such a level that his or her skills could inspire others, just as the members of the Storks have inspired the Hyogo community,
then perhaps we all need to evaluate why we are not inspiring and being inspired on a daily basis. Maybe we all just need to try and take a step
towards that coveted consistency. Even if the only thing we can consistently do is smile, that smile might just be enough.