Phillips County teams kick of practices

Monday, December 7, marked a big day for local sports, as all seven Phillips County Sports Teams took to the court and the mats for their first official practices of the 2020-21 season.

The Phillips County News checked in with many teams around the county that day.

The Malta Mustangs basketball team was the first team to grace the Malta High School Gymnasium.

"It's good to get rolling and to get to have a somewhat normal activity to be involved in again," Mustangs Head Coach David Costin said.

The Mustangs had a total of 15 athletes on the court, with a possibility of one more.

Last year, the threat of COVID-19 shut down the final day of the 2020 state basketball tournament around the state. The M-ettes were caught in the cancellation, as they were primed to compete for third place.

This season, the M-ettes have 21 athletes competing for spots on the rosters and M-ette Head Coach Nate Hammond was very encouraged to hold practice again.

"I'm excited to see these kids again and excited to work with them," Coach Hammond said. "The personality and attitude of the players is by far the most important aspect of enjoying this job."

Coach Hammond said that he is happy that the M-ettes get an opportunity to do what they love in a sport that they have invested so much into.

Eleven wrestlers were present at the Malta Wrestling Center on Monday. Head Coach Jake French shared how he felt about being able to wrestle.

"It's good to get going and to have the kids here," Coach French said. "We are going to do what we can, the best that we can and work on the fly."

The North Country Mavericks Basketball team took the court with 10 high school athletes and four eighth-graders. The team has six seniors, two juniors, and two freshmen.

"I'm just happy that the boys and all of the athletes can get out here and play after missing track last spring," Mavericks Coach Taylor Olson said. "Despite having the start delayed, it's nice to see that basketball has started."

The Lady Mavericks also hit the court on Monday, with 17 girls ready to play for the team.

"It feels so great to be back in the gym again," Coach Amber Erickson said. "I have been looking forward to having this group together for a long time now. We have height, length, speed and depth. I look for us to be a very uptempo, aggressive team that is going to continually improve as the season progresses and they get used to playing together. With our veteran players leading our younger kids it's going to be a special year for us."

Dodson Coyotes Head Coach Frank Benson is optimistic that his team's defense may be solid this season. The team has 17 athletes.

"It was good to have the first day," Coach Benson said. "We just needed to get back on the basketball court. We are just trying to do better than we did last year and get over that hump of making state."

Dodson Lady Coyotes Head Coach Clayton KillEagle was thankful to be back on the court.

"It feels good," Coach KillEagle said. "It has been a crazy year. We are still unsure of how the season is going to go but it feels good to have a little bit of normalcy back in our lives."

Coach KillEagle said that he knows there will be some restrictions but he is encouraged by the positive attitudes that he saw on the court during the team's first practice. The Lady Coyotes have eight girls out for basketball.