A tradition kept since the early years of Woodgrove High School, the annual Student vs. Staff basketball game was held on January 19th. The game was won by the staff, which continued a common trend of losses for the students in school events this year. This has led to participants and students questioning aspects of the game, such as the ways the teams are chosen or how the game is officiated. 

An important aspect of the game is team selection. The first ten students to sign up a few days before the game make up the team of seniors. This process groups random seniors who have little to no chemistry. Seniors on the basketball team are not allowed to participate. The team also doesn’t get practice time in preparation for the game because the roster is released too close to the game. On the other hand, the staff team is self-selected and has disputed advantages, like better chemistry and teachers who played competitively in high-school and college. 

Some believe that changes could be made to this system. Senior Coach Danny Maher suggests, “I think the selection process should be different next year; maybe the senior class could vote for their ten players.” Maher adds, “I enjoyed the atmosphere surrounding the game. This school has never disappointed me in school spirit during those types of events.”

Despite the dismal result for the senior class, this year’s game was still a success, providing exciting and entertaining moments. The scoring from the teachers, especially from Dr. Shipp, hyped up the packed stands. 

“Always a competitive game, always look forward to them, what surprised me was how our staff came out on top. We had some very talented teachers who played very well,” Shipp says. His game was on point for most of the day, up until a slightly fumbled pass for a wide open layup became a highlight block that turned into a questionable foul call on Senior Noah Roach. When asked about the referee’s decision on the play, Shipp said, “I will take the call. I was happy with the call… even if it wasn’t the correct call.” Regardless of suspect calls, it always ends up being another great experience and memory for participants and viewers every year. The game raised about $900 dollars for the senior class to put towards graduation events in June.