MILTON, Del. - The Mariner Middle School basketball team practices hard -- but they're also celebrating. This year, they knocked down an undefeated season - a school first.
"It feels good to be undefeated, finally," said Mariner player Noah Piper.
It was a season of clutch comebacks and buzzer beating plays. But even before they hit the court, Coach Terry Hazzard says the team had a lot to be proud of because basketball isn't the only thing he's teaching these young men.
Each day they have a study hall before they can even touch a basketball. It helps them understand that an education is the most important thing they can bring on the court.
"They're a student first, athlete second," said Hazzard. "When they're in here during study hall, it's just them and their books, and it humbles them. They may have scored 13 points in the game, but they have to get this chapter down."
And, it's paid off. Each of them improved their GPA while going undefeated. It's a credit to the coach's philosophy of being accountable to your teammates and giving everything you've got in the classroom on the court.
Eight grader Richard Carey says it's helped them build a strong bond that played out in their winning record.
"We're real close, we're like brothers," said Carey.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WMDT. All Rights Reserved. For more
information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
