It wasn’t the type of winter season that anyone could anticipate on the basketball hardwood, but one that no coach or player will forget in this COVID era.

While Freedom’s and Liberty’s seasons ended two weeks ago, both coaches looked back on a winter campaign that provided an extraordinary amount of hurdles, but also brought some positives.

Freedom head coach Joe Stellato didn’t get much practice time with his young group this season, but the experience should pay off for the Pates.

“The positives of the season were us starting five sophomores and playing a lot of young players who got better by the end of the year,” Stellato said. “We did not have a lot of practices and had to fix mistakes on the move and during the games. The players did a great job of being flexible and focusing on the game instructions. These young players received a ton of experience and this will pay off in years to come.”

While the Pates didn’t experience much success during a 1-9 regular season, pulling off an opening round playoff win over Stroudsburg was certainly a boost for the group heading into the offseason.

“It was great to win that game,” Stellato said. “It gave us a lot of momentum going into the off-season. It showed how far we have come in such a short time.”

Liberty head coach Nigel Long never anticipated his inaugural campaign to look the way it did, as the Hurricanes finished 3-7.

Being a first time head coach with a new group of players presents enough challenges in itself, but adding in all the disruption and lack of continuity this winter made it even more challenging for a new coach.

Still, Long took everything in stride and hopes that they can look back on the season with gratitude for what they did accomplish.

“I am thankful that we had the opportunity to compete this year,” he said. “We learned a lot about ourselves as a program this year. With the season, we had a lot of young players receive experience which will be invaluable for us moving forward. My hope is that we will continue to build on it this upcoming off-season.”

With all eyes set on June and the hopeful return of the Cedar Beach Summer League, both coaches are optimistic about getting back to work with their groups.

“We are looking forward to the off-season,” Long said. “This is where players and coaches grow. We are hoping that we can play at Cedar Beach, as it is always a competitive league for our players in the area during the summer. We will do the best we can to keep our players active in a safe way.”