With fall sports coming to a close, Xavier athletes, fans and coaches are preparing for winter sports, including Boys and Girls Basketball. For the girls, practices began on November 5, although the preparation started even earlier. In fact, for some players it never ended. Senior Lexi Beier is a returning varsity player who will be playing her second season with Xavier after transferring from Linn-Mar and is excited to get the season started. “As a team, I definitely saw some awesome things over the summer that I hope will continue throughout this season. I just want everyone to have a lot of fun on and off the court, this is our only chance to have this one team and time is definitely going to fly once we get going,” Beier said. The head coach for Varsity Girls Basketball is Tom Lilly, who has been coaching for 36 years. He started his coaching career at Regis High School and came to Xavier when it opened in 1998. Coach Lilly is ready for the season and excited to see the effects of the hard work put in by his players. “Their preparation has been similar to most teams we have had. Many participate in scheduled workouts. Others work out with strength programs, while others play on AAU teams that travel all over the country. They seem connected and have enjoyed their off season together. The team participated at the Wartburg team camp and came away with winning the overall championship,” Lilly said. The girls finished their 2020- 2021 season with a game count of 10-7, falling to Wahlert Catholic in the 4A Region 6 Semifinal. Senior Mary Kate Moeder is a returning varsity senior, although she was unable to play last season due to an ACL and meniscus injury. This year, she is already thinking ahead to the goals she has for her team. “Missing out on state the last two years has fueled my motivation to get there this year. Most importantly, though, my goal for the team is that all of us will be able to walk away at the end of the season with no regrets, and to be able to confidently say that we gave it our all every step of the way,” Moeder said. In the previous 2020-2021 season, there were no seniors on the team. Many juniors last year were put into a senior position automatically, this year, senior Maddie Steger is ready to take a leadership role as a true senior and lead her team. “I’m super excited for the season to get started. We didn’t have any seniors last year and it’s always good to have seniors to lead and look up to. We were really young last year and for a lot of us it was our first time playing with each other for various reasons. It’s good to come into this year with all returning players and adding some players that will help us as well,” Steger said. For boys basketball, practices began November 15. As the athletes and coaches are getting excited for the beginning of the season, the seniors of the team are accepting a new role on the team. Senior Trysten Vasquez is ready to step up. “It means a lot to me [to be a senior leader] and I look forward to helping lead the team in any way I can. I’m looking forward to building a relationship with my teammates and having fun,” Vasquez said. The boys closed their 2020- 2021 season with an 11-11 game, losing to Davenport Assumption in the 3A Substate 5 second round. This season, Spencer Mesch (X22) is ready to get after it with his team. “Some goals are to just get better everyday, and try to win as many games as we can. I am looking forward to making more memories with the guys on the team and growing everyday with them off the court and on the court. It’s pretty cool to be a senior on this team, to be there for the younger guys if they have questions or if they need help with anything, and to be the best leaders that we can day in and day out,” Mesch said. The head varsity coach is Mike Freeman, who will be coaching at Xavier for his third season. His senior players are feeling prepared for the season, including Landen Eidahl(X22). “I am most looking forward to being with my teammates and pushing each other at every practice to get better. A goal I would have for our team is to improve off of last season and continuing to improve as the season goes on. We had a lot of great senior leaders last year so I hope the seniors we have this year can be as impactful as last years,” Eidahl said. The Varsity Girls will play their first game on Tuesday, November 23 at Xavier High School starting at 7:30 p.m. The Varsity Boys will play their first game on Tuesday, November 30 at Mount Pleasant High School starting at 7:30 p.m.