Gallery by Zoe Peterson.
“Midnight Madness” serves as the kickoff to the basketball season and first public competition.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, the Clarke Central High School basketball program hosted its 2017 “Midnight Madness”, an annual competition in which middle and high school teams scrimmage against one another to entertain friends and family. The event lasted from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Head CCHS boys basketball coach Andre McIntyre believes the event best serves as an opportunity for the community to witness the beginning of the winter basketball season.
“We have the middle school boys and girls team from BHL and CMS play,” McIntyre said. “The cheerleaders come. The STEP team is there. All six programs. The freshman boys and girls, the JV boys and girls, the varsity boys and girls all play about 10-minute games amongst each other. We also have alumni games. Some of the alumni, boys and girls, come in and play. It’s a lot of fun for the community.”
McIntyre believes that players who participate in “Midnight Madness” play differently due to the presence of a crowd and that scrimmages are more reminiscent of season games.
“The adrenaline kicks in,” McIntyre said. “Sometimes they try to do some things they can’t do. I think they play harder. This is a good deviation from the constant practice. They just want to put on a good show.”
Senior Samiha Rittenberry believes that “Midnight Madness” is a more effective practice method that better prepares coaches and players for the upcoming regular season.
“It’s like the kickoff,” Samiha said. “It mostly sets a tone for the rest of the season. In practice, we scrimmage each other, but it’s different because people can come and watch us. Some people get nervous because they’ve never been in a similar situation before, but upperclassmen are ready, we know what to expect.”
Video by Kelly Fulford.
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