Practices aren’t designed for enjoyment.
But when the Mahomet-Seymour boys basketball team stepped onto the court of Hickory gymnasium where the movie Hoosiers was filmed, maybe they did enjoy practice a little bit.
The team left Friday evening to stay overnight in Greenfield.
“It is good to get away and spend time as a team,” Benedict said. “We did a couple of team building things at the hotel and then practiced the next morning.”
Benedict said coaches taught the team about playing on a small court with two half-court lines and a retaining wall for out-of-bounds plays. And the team changed and showered in the same locker room that movie stars Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper were in during the filming of the 1986 movie.
The trip away after the first week of practice also gives an opportunity for assistant coaches at all levels within the Mahomet-Seymour High School program to attend practice and provide feedback.
While most of the players had seen Hoosiers, Benedict said a few of the team members got together before the trip to watch it.
He said the movie helps players learn how to overcome adversity and to work as a team.
“(They) like simple things but it is really so important,” he said. “We talk all the time about how sports mirror life. Hoosiers certainly represents that. I think that is why it is so appealing to so many people.”
