Troy Boardman is a senior on the Boy’s varsity basketball team. Boardman has been playing the sport since he was in second grade. He balances school, basketball, and a part time job. 

1. As kind of a senior being on varsity basketball, what is kind of your main role of being on the team, and how do you help mentor other young players?

Being a senior, it definitely requires a lot of leadership skills and knowing what to say and when to say it, especially to the younger guys. I’ve been playing under Coach Garner for a bit, so I tell the younger guys to always have a positive mindset and work hard and eventually, things will go your way.

2. What aspect of basketball do you feel like you have most improved on since being on varsity? I would say it hasn’t been something specific about basketball. It’s been a lot of mental stuff, and having a next shot mentality. So if I miss a shot, I just tell myself I’m gonna make the next one and to not worry about it. I tell myself to just keep shooting and have confidence.

3. What has been a memorable moment, or like a certain game that has stood out to you, and like has been special. 

I would say one of my favorite games being on varsity was when we played heritage last year in the PSD tournament when the entire school was there. There’s kind of like a pep rally environment, and everyone’s there, and they’re a really good team, and we beat them because we’ve kind of always been rivals with them, and we beat them when everyone was watching, and it was a home game, the environment was great, and, yeah, it was probably my favorite game. 

4. How do you prepare mentally for a big a big game,

I would say something I personally do is I zone out, put in my headphones, I listen to music, and I just take deep breaths and I stretch properly. I make sure my mental health is in the right place to play a game.

5. What is one strength or value that you think defines the current team?

I would say one of our strengths right now is definitely our ability to play with each other. We don’t have a lot of experience right now at the varsity level, because we had a ton of seniors graduate last year, but over the course of this year, we’ve all got to know each other really well, and our chemistry is becoming good. 

6. What is one strength that you think defines yourself?

I would definitely say my voice is pretty loud on the court, and my leadership skills. I hustle and talk to the guys about what they need to be doing, and also what I need to be doing myself. So basically, just keeping everyone in check.

7. What is kind of a challenge you face being on like playing basketball and being on the basketball team? 

There are a lot of physical aspects like running and working on your conditioning. Aside from the physical aspect, you have to get up every morning, get the proper amount of sleep, and do good every day in practice. Whether it’s getting up shots on the gun or just getting there early and stretching, it is important to be in that consistent mode and grind throughout the season.

8. What motivates you to put in all that effort and work?

Seeing us lose in the playoffs last year, everyone was heartbroken, and some tears were let out in the locker room after. So seeing all of my friends last year, especially seniors, release those emotions, it hit me. That’s my motivation. I don’t want to go through that again.

9. Do you have a favorite professional basketball player and what part of their playing style do you try to emulate?

One of my favorite basketball players growing up was DeMar DeRozan. I lived in Seattle when I was a kid, and he was on the Raptors which was the closest team to me. He grew up from a tough spot when he was a kid, and he eventually made it to the NBA, helped out his family, and everyone else around him before himself.  That kind of motivated me to be a better person and help out others.

10. What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned from basketball?

I would say that always value yourself, but also always value the ones around you and keep them close. Having great friends and great teammates can help you through rough things. In the future, in a work environment, just keep friends close and whenever you need to contact them, just contact them. 

11. If you could say one thing to your freshman self, what would you give them?

I would say, just be ready for the grind. You’re definitely going to get tired throughout the journey of playing basketball in high school, and you’re going to hit rough spots, whether it comes to positioning on the team, like how many minutes you’re going to get, or what your role is going to be, but just keep pushing, and everything’s going to work out.