The Frisch Cougars entered the 2016-2017 season with three goals: winning the Steve Glouberman tournament, Sarachek and the MYHSAL championship. In November, they achieved their first milestone. With their sights set on the next two, they forgot one of the most important lessons of sports, which is to play each game like it is the last. The Cougars were stunned by a rude awakening with losses to Flatbush and then again to Heschel in a span of only a couple of weeks. Their hopes for an undefeated season were crushed, but the fire that burned within only grew stronger.
Frisch moved forward, winning tough games on the road and at home. Each player took it upon himself to push a little harder in practice, to push himself to the limit and then go beyond, and the team benefitted tremendously. That was why it was a serious shock for the Cougars when they lost to the TABC Storm on the road on a buzzer-beater that capped off an 18-point TABC comeback. It was probably the hardest and most unexpected loss of their high school careers. Before that game, Frisch regarded it the most crucial game in potentially clinching second place in the division and being a favorite to make Sarachek. However, their previously clear vision and apparent grasp of their own destiny suddenly became very clouded and uncertain.
Frisch played their final regular season game at home against an undefeated Heschel squad. The Cougars knew three things: 1) Their coveted undefeated season was no longer a reality. 2) The #2 seed was no longer guaranteed. 3) This upcoming game was the biggest game of their lives thus far. They needed to win and it was simply a matter of will. Both of their remaining two goals were still achievable if they had what it took to make a statement against Heschel. And they did.
Frisch took down the undefeated team, the number one seed in the country, and re-established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. After much suspense, they found out they had made Sarachek and, a little while later, that they were back on top of the rankings as the top seed both in Sarachek and according to Jewish Hoops America. Despite the bumps in the road, Frisch is in the driver’s seat now with their future in their hands. Although they are grateful for how things turned out, it took a lot more than luck. It took heart, sweat and mental perseverance, even in the face of struggles they did not foresee.
As they look ahead to the Sarachek tournament, they are coming in hungry and refocused on who they are as a team. They are the Frisch Cougars.
By Samuel Fishman and Mark Abramovitz
