Falcon's Nest News: Pre-Season

Members of our Falcons Varsity Basketball team

This past week, Yeshivah of Flatbush basketball opened the 2013-14 campaign with pre-season scrimmages for both the boys and girls teams, as well as games for the Boys Varsity in the Magen David Pre-Season Tournament.

Last Sunday, the boys teams travelled to Elizabeth, NJ to take on JEC. This would be the first opportunity for our boys to take the court under the guidance of new Head Coach Avi Borenstein. Ironically, Coach Borenstein got his start in the MYHSAL coaching JEC! Playing an up-tempo style and insuring all team members got time on the court, the JV played a tough game, losing a heart-breaker in overtime after JEC tied the game in regulation with a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Varsity then took the court, and the heavily senior-laden team set a scorching pace, pressuring the ball all over the court. Utilizing the entire roster, the Falcons took a double-digit lead into the half and worked on the new offense and defense through the remainder of the game. The next day, the Varsity faced its first challenge of the season facing off with YDE in the opening round of the Magen David Tournament. Again, utilizing the strength of a deep bench, the team opened up a 20-point lead in the first half and used the second half to explore a variety of player rotations in closing out the game. The Falcon’s tournament run came to an end two days later, falling in a hard-fought battle to an SAR team that pulled away in the final 5 minutes of a game that watched Flatbush again sprint out to an early lead, then settle into a back-and-forth that saw the lead dissipate in the second half. Nevertheless, the pre-season has served to demonstrate that the Falcons will be a team to be reckoned with – both the Varsity and the JV – throughout the season.

For the first time in recent memory, the Flatbush girls’ basketball team took to the court against a non-Yeshiva League opponent. Our girls travelled to Westbury, Long Island to take on the Westbury Yes-We-Can Community Center Basketball Club. The club is made up of high school students in the North Hempstead area who come together after school for after-school activities and camaraderie, part of which includes playing on the Center’s club teams.

Though overmatched on the court, the players and coaches came away from the evening feeling that the event was a very positive experience, on a variety of levels. The games provided the JV and Varsity with their first competition against another opponent, and they also spent time learning about and sharing school and team experiences with the girls from Westbury Yes-We-Can. Our girls found the game was much tougher than they are used to, leaving them with the sense that after this, they will have nothing to fear from any teams they will face during the regular season. “We know we can compete with anyone in the Yeshiva league. These girls were tough, and we held our own!”

The girls will start their regular season with a Double-Header on October 30 at Kushner in Livingston, NJ. Their first home game will be in the Falcons’ Nest on November 13 against HAFTR.

The boys JV will open the regular season on October 23 at Yeshiva Shaare Torah. The Boys Varsity will open up at Rambam on October 29, before taking off for Memphis, TN two days later to represent Flatbush at the Cooper Yeshiva Basketball Tournament. The JV boys first opportunity to defend the home court comes on November 6 against Lev Bonim; the Varsity welcomes a powerful Heschel squad on November 14 to kick off the home season.

Come this November, show your maroon and gold pride, and rock the Falcon’s Nest!  ~Mr. Eric Amkraut, Athletics Director