Excited chatter filled the air as the first day of Varsity basketball tryouts were about to begin. Gathered in groups scattered throughout the gym, the future teammates boasted about their talents or how confident they were on making the team.

Tryouts were where they got to showcase their skills and make a good first impression on the coach. This was particularly important this year because the Varsity boys have a new coach. Although head coach Steven Stitzer coached some of the players during the fall, this will be his first winter season.

“I want to change the culture,” Stitzer said. “I have to change whether [the players] think they can win or not.”

Stitzer coached the team during the fall in the Premiere league where they won their division, so, as Stitzer said, the boys know how to win. The team just has to translate the winning attitude they had during the fall into the winter season, where the competition will be more fierce.

One thing Stitzer will stress during the season is playing high defense, whether that is playing a fast defense during the first half to speed up the pace of the game, or a slow defense in the last minutes to preserve the lead.

“We’re not afraid to change our defense up,” Stitzer said.

The first day of tryouts was mostly running, senior Scott Johnson explained, compared to last year, which was very fundamental heavy. The underclassmen tryouts were also focused on conditioning. Stitzer’s reason for concentrating on conditioning is that most of the game is being able to think quickly on their feet, and when a player is tired, that won’t happen.

“The fourth quarter is where you win the game,” Stitzer said, “and I want to have the kids prepared for the fourth quarter to be able to win every game.”

Stitzer is confident about the season, saying that North has the athletes that will be able to compete, outrun teams, play excellent defense, and have the attitude that they can win.