Since the first March Madness basketball tournament on Wednesday, March 21st, 2018, the Lake Shore Foundation for Educational Excellence has been hosting this tournament where the whole Lake Shore Public Schools district comes together at the Lake Shore High School Performance Gym to compete against each other to win the championship.
Although the Shorians lost to the combined North Lake High School Barracudas and the Kennedy Middle School Clippers, they’re looking to rebound and restart their streak next year. The 2024 team roster consisted of LSHS Dean of Students Will Puvalowski, Assistant Principal Todd Stevens, Principal Janelle Bross, Mathematics Teacher Jackie Phillips, Mathematics Teacher Mary Stanley, Speech and Language Pathologist Scott Archibald, Science Teacher Christopher Gwozdz, Spanish Teacher Austin Kelley, Mathematics Teacher Ben Maleszyk, Hall Monitor Blair Gariepy, and Custodian Jason Schoenherr.
When seven out of the eleven staff members on the team roster were asked about the possibility of defending their March Madness title, they responded differently.
Puvalowski said, “I’m very confident that we will go undefeated for the fourth consecutive year, we have by far the most basketball knowledge in the district and the most athletic staff. So, I’m very confident that the results will go our way like they always do.”
This quote from Puvalowski shows confidence because if the staff members on the team understand the mechanics of the game, then they can use that knowledge to dominate the game and win.
Stevens said, “In terms of us potentially defending our March Madness title and remaining undefeated, I just hope that everybody stays healthy, no one gets injured and we just have a good time out there, and whatever happens, happens and we’ll do our best that we can, and I know that some of us are a little competitive, so we always look for a good outcome, but whatever happens happens.”
Having high hopes for the team is huge. This is because if the team has good confidence, then that could increase the team’s chemistry. But, having fun is also vital, because if you get too competitive, then that could lead to some issues when it comes time to play the game.
Bross said, “We are very fortunate to have the most athletic staff out of all the Lake Shore buildings. So, there is no doubt that we will be repeating our championship during March Madness.”
The advantage of being able to have some of the best basketball players in the entire Shorian Nation is massive. This is because if the team has experienced the glory and prestige of winning, then they can ride that wave of momentum for years to come.
Phillips said, “I think we have an excellent team and we have been practicing for a few weeks now. We have excellent long range shooters and most of our players have basketball experience as coaches and players. I am highly confident that we can remain undefeated (barring injury or illness keeping any of our players from the court on Wednesday.”
Confidence in your team is vital to success as that confidence can lead to excellent team chemistry and a victory.
Stanley said, “This is only my 2nd year on the March Madness team. Although I’ve played a minor role in this undefeated team, I’m extremely excited to continuously play with them. We have a lot of fun playing, but we can get competitive. I think as long as we can continue to be competitive and have fun we will remain undefeated!”
If Stanley uses the experience of her first March Madness game, then if it all comes down to the final minutes of the game, and the Lake Shore High School team needs a certain amount of points to win the championship, she could be the player who completes the feat.
Kelley said, “It would be awesome! It was a blast last year playing with everyone. We need all our fans and support to bring the same energy to help bring it home again!”
Having fans’ support is vital, as the entire team can feed off of that, and use that as momentum to propel them to victory.
Maleszyk said, “I’m really excited to get out there and defend our title as the Greatest Basketball-Playing Teachers in the World. Last year, they tried to give us a little more of a challenge by having us play against the basketball teams, but even they couldn’t take us down. Hopefully this year we can have some good competition against the other schools. If we win again this Wednesday, they might have to consider bringing in the Boston Celtics next year to make it a fair contest. Long story short, we’re ready to dominate again this year.”
Being able to confidently say that the team will be defending their March Madness title is a big statement, as the high school has some of the most dominant players in the history of this LSFEE March Madness tournament, as they’ve won every iteration of this event, and are looking to do the same this year.
At 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, the Lake Shore High School team stepped onto the court confident that they would be declared the 2024 LSFEE March Madness Champions, defend their title, and remain undefeated.
After the four games that night, with fifty staff members representing the entirety of the Lake Shore Public Schools district, the combined team of the North Lake High School Barracudas and the Kennedy Middle School Clippers snapped the winning streak of the Lake Shore High School Shorians. Despite this loss, the high school team is hoping to restart that streak next year in the 2024-2025 LSFEE March Madness.
