With basketball season in full swing the Akins boy’s basketball team is working to become a prominent force in the district.

Although the team started rough, with a zero to four record, they’ve begun to progress into the season and are moving in a better direction as the season has moved on.

“We’ve been growing as a team and as players,” senior Christian Newton said.

As the team has progressed, they’ve started to excel and perform better than before. Even though they have experienced some changes, they’ve taken on a strong role in the year.

“I feel like we’re going to have a successful year,” Newton said. “We like to play hard and do our best.”

The boys basketball team has already proven themselves as a contender this year, placing third in a recent tournament against other schools around the Austin area.

The team still has many games to play as they’ve only begun to let schools know that it will put up a challenge this year.

“People doubt us because of our size,” junior Vincent Prado said. “We’re shorter than other teams, but we’re still good.”

The team has experienced some major changes this year, including a change in leadership with new head coach Jesse Hayes.

“Coach Hayes has been good, he’s just been putting in a lot of confidence in us,” Prado said.

This is coach Jesse Hayes’ first year as head coach of the Akins basketball team, and he’s helping directing the team’s efforts to make it to the playoffs.

“It’s been a journey,” said Jesse Hayes. “It’s just been a long journey.”

As the team sets their eyes on playoffs, they’ll have to first make their way through district competition, in which team members said they have a very high chance of succeeding.

Basketball also has many benefits for the students with a highly enforced “No Pass, No Play” rule is on the team. This means that students have to keep up with all their grades, in order to play in any of the games. This encourages the players to do well in all of their classes.

“If I don’t have the grades, I can’t play in the games, and that just helps me do better,” sophomore Cameron Ivey said.

Enforcement of “No Pass, No Play” helps provide guidance in the program, and helps students stay on track with what they’re doing in school. They know the consequences, and would rather not face them.

While it is too early to tell how many games they need to win to make the playoffs, the team has a number of chances to get in, as long as they play hard to ensure they can secure a spot.

Playoffs are known to be extremely competitive, and are a tough challenge that the team will have to face but with a little push, can easily get through it.

The season is still in progress, with the teams next game scheduled December 19.