By Staff Writer John Conway
Production by Emily Hillier & Kevin MacGregor
“The North Star” met with senior Jayson Winick, starting guard for the boys basketball team. Last week, the team went 4-0, narrowly defeating Plainfield East on Saturday. Winick spoke about what teamwork means to him.
Q: What is the best thing about your sport?
A: I’d say the best thing about my sport is just being part of a team. When you’re part of a team, you can really struggle and go through adversity with basically a group of brothers. You can always count on them to do anything. When you have any problems, they are really there for you. Especially at this school, we have a great team, great chemistry, and it’s just really fun.
Q: What is the worst thing about your sport?
A: When you prepare for 5 days – a whole week – to play one game, and then all your hard work doesn’t pay off if you get the loss. It’s just a really sad feeling, but it’s part of the game. It’s part of any sport – you’re not always successful, but it teaches you to keep working harder.
Q: How far do you want to go with your sport?
A: I’ve already committed to play basketball at Stevenson Institute of Technology. It’s a school in Hoboken, New Jersey. It’s a great academic school. They’ve got a good basketball team, and I’m looking forward to it.
Q: How have you evolved as an athlete over the years?
A: I’d say I’ve mainly evolved through leadership. Freshmen and sophomore year I was really quiet, but starting my junior and this [year], I’ve been a lot more of a vocal leader. [I’ve been] telling my teammates what to do and guiding them because I have a little bit more experience than some of the younger guys. Also, I’d say physically I have gotten a lot stronger as an athlete. That’s helped me with things such as realigning, attacking the basket, and just being a better overall athlete.
Q: What coaches/mentors have inspired you over the years?
A: I’d say lately, of course Coach Powers, since he’s my coach now. He’s really just guided me, not just in basketball, but in life. He always teaches me life lessons. Also, Coach Dycus really [does] the same thing, both those two coaches. He was my coach sophomore year. They always yell at me a ton, but I know that they are just trying to make me better because they know how much potential I could have. They are just looking to get the best out of me.
