After staying hours after school for football practice in the fall, junior Stefano Giovannelli said he was relieved that this wouldn’t be the case for basketball, where practices are now held in the mornings.

“All of us who played football experienced getting home at 6:30 (p.m.) every day and having  only a couple hours to do whatever we had to do,” Giovanelli said. “We’re all excited to be able to come home after school each day and all that without having to worry about staying after and practicing.”

Although boys’ basketball players won’t have to stay after school to practice, they will have to arrive at school early as practices are now being held in the mornings.

 Head coach Dave Breitenbucher, who also teaches at Park middle school, said he switched the practice to the mornings because the middle school schedule requires him to teach after the high school is dismissed. According to Breitenbucher, the early practices will require the team to adapt to a different sleep schedule.

“The biggest thing is everybody’s got to be disciplined to get to bed early enough to make sure that we’re getting adequate sleep,” Breitenbucher said. “There’s going to be extra time after school, that means getting your work done and getting to bed early.”

Senior Blake Anderson said although he wasn’t thrilled to wake up earlier than he normally would every morning, the benefits of early practices outweigh the costs.

“I wasn’t exactly excited to begin that early every day but I feel like in the long run, it’ll be good for our team,” Anderson said. “Guys are holding each other more accountable to get to practice on time, and that creates a better environment as a team.”

According to Giovannelli, accountability has been a major focus for the team this year, especially when it comes to attendance. Giovannelli said if one teammate is late to practice, the whole team has to run, which influences the team to look out for one another.

“It’s teaching us good habits of getting to bed early and getting out of bed early,” Giovannelli said. “It’ll help us become more mature as a team and as a family.”

Anderson said he has already seen an uptick in accountability, which has created a stronger community for the team.

“Guys are holding each other more accountable to get to practice on time, it creates a better environment for the team,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the better environment has translated to better in-game performances, shown when the team won its first game against Holy Family Dec. 4 65-57. Park will look to extend its winning record against Minneapolis Washburn Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.