A Perfect Swish at Woodbury’s Lake Middle School

David Battle doesn’t care who scores. He wants his team to defend.

And for the boys A and B teams, the philosophy works. The teams haven’t lost for the last two years—that’s a grand total of 45-0 (22-0 for the A team; 23-0 for the B team). Their seasons ended Feb. 22.

Battle—who coaches both teams as they take on area junior high and middle school teams, most in District 833—said the teams ran into a couple scares but their records remained unblemished.

“I guess we’ve played pretty well,” Battle said in a slight understatement last week as the team was heading the Water Park of America for a little postseason fun.

The Lake Leopards play with a defensive intensity that Battle said he calls “eye up,” a pressing, trapping style backed by conditioning work at practice.

“They didn’t like it initially,” Battle said. “But once they saw how it paid off, they were OK with it. The winning is just a byproduct of what we do in practice.”

The players get along well together and have great support from parents, Battle said. He predicted that most will go on to varsity basketball and a couple have a shot at playing Division I in college.

“I call it the perfect storm,” Battle said of the talent coming together the past two years.

Battle sounds like a pro scout when he talks about some of the teams’ outstanding players. Discussing the attributes of a few key players, Battle said:

Bobby Franks—“He has a great temperament, good size, and he channels his aggression in the right direction.”

Sam Cobbs—“He started out as an athlete, and he has evolved into an upper-echelon player. He’s our lock-down defender. Anybody you want to shut down, put Sam on him and it’s done.”

Sidney Tomes—“He’s our floor general and has a great hoops IQ. His dad is a coach.”

Bobby Remke—“He’s a lights-out shooter. You give him the ball and he’ll knock it down. Plus he’s a great defender with good hops.”

Dillon Gutenberg—“He does our dirty work, and he likes that.”

Tyler Wood—“He’s a great rebounder and defender. He’s probably the guy who’s made the most strides.”

Jacob Wetterstrom—“He’s really a soccer guy, and he’s got great footwork and he’s gotten a lot better at basketball.”

For all the success the team has had over the past two years, Battle said the time the kids put in isn’t all about what happens on the court.

“We’ve stressed not only being a good player, but a good person,” he said.

The team will play staff at Lake Middle School at 2:45 p.m. on March 7 as a benefit for Pennies for Patients. Tickets cost $3. Eric Perkins from KARE 11 is expected to be there.

Adrian Salazar
Zachary Dreher
Matt Vogler
Carter Stoehr
Adam Keifer
Sam Johnson
Mitchell Lindstrom
Ambarish “Rishi” Sen
Dillon Gutenberg
Bobby Remke
Bobby Franks
Frederick Gillespie
Sidney Tomes
Sam Cobbs
David Jung
Donnell Rodgers
Carter Peterson
Alex Ellingson
John Riley Pratt
Jacob Wetterstrom
Taylor “Cupcake” Wood
Connor Lejcher
Jacob Biddick