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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, November 23-26, 2019 B-3 The Park Record Miners to embrace the fight 2020 QUALIFIERS Top scorers in qualifiers will compete in The Park Record Bee on March 10, 2020. Winner of The Park Record Bee will compete in the Scripps National Bee in May 2020. QUALIFIERS TAKE PLACE DECEMBER 4, 2019. TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD A pair of Park City boys basketball players work on a drill in the middle of practice last week. New coach Thomas Purcell is planning on leaning heavily on his seniors this season and has set his sights on winning Region 8. Transition period not affecting Park City’s mental game RYAN KOSTECKA The Park Record From the outside looking in on Park City boys basketball program, it would appear that the Miners are in a tough spot. Not only is Park City jumping up to Class 5A this season, the Miners are breaking in a brand new head coach who’s only been on the job for a few weeks. That’s tough to take for a team expecting success despite coming off an 8-13 record last season. According to new head coach Thomas Purcell, though, everything the Miners have been through and are going through means nothing. All that matters is the team and the boys fighting on the court. “Right now the team is really buying into what I’m teaching and embracing our new ‘we’ philosophy,” Purcell said. “The enthusiasm and energy we have had in practice has been fantastic. Nothing greats happens without enthusiasm and I think that’s true and the boys truly believe that also.” Purcell, who has an extensive coaching career after being an assistant at three different schools over the past decade, isn’t buying into the hype of a tougher schedule just because of the jump in classification. According to him, he’s seen 6A teams that were terrible and 2A teams that were stellar. Because of this, it’s been easier to relay to his boys that their opponent won’t matter, but rather, it’s about the effort and fun they put forward. Last season, Purcell, who was an assistant under former coach Mike Doleac, believes that the Miners were a play or two away per game that could’ve easily made the team 13-8. So part of his message to the team this season is about effort and hard work, saying that they won’t be losing anymore games due to a lack of hustle. “I really want to see the guys having fun and working hard, which is possible to do simultaneously,” Purcell said. “The beginning of the season is the dog days where there are lots of practices and very few games and I don’t want to see them get bored. I want them to be working really hard, but also want to see them lift one another up during these tough times.” For now though, Purcell is working without four players who will be on the varsity team by the time the season begins on Tuesday, Nov. 26 when the Miners travel to Snow Canyon in St. George. Mark McCurdy, Alex Obradovich, Carson Tabaracci and Ashton Jarvis are all expected to join the team on Saturday, three days before the season opener, as the boys compete in the 4A state football championship on Friday. McCurdy, a senior, is the biggest returner for Purcell, as he’s been a captain since his sophomore season and averaged 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last season. While he’s expected to conPlease see Transition, B-4 Ecker Hill Middle School: 3:45pm (4th-8th) Sara Hutchinson • sarabhutch@gmail.com Jeremy Ranch Elementary School: 3:15pm (2nd/3rd, 4th-8th) Sarah Smyth • sarahasmyth@comcast.net McPolin Elementary School: 3:15pm (2nd/3rd, 4th-8th) Kelly Cronley • kelly.brewer@gmail.com Park City Day School: 8:30am (2nd/3rd, 4th-8th) Mallory Matthews • mmatthews@parkcitydayschool.org Parleys Park Elementary School: 3:15pm (2nd/3rd, 4th-8th) Stephanie Pearce • spearce@pcschools.us Trailside Elementary School: 3:15pm (2nd/3rd, 4th-8th) Julie Sommers • juliesommers@gmail.com Treasure Mountain Junior High: 2:45pm (4th-8th) Suzanne Jacoby • suzjacoby@me.com Weilenmann School of Discovery: 3:05pm (2nd/3rd, 4th-8th) Shelley Turner • shelleyturner@wsdpc.org Heber Valley School: 3:00pm written Piper Riddle • piper.riddle@wasatch.edu J.R. Smith Elementary School: oral bee Teresa Segura • teresa.segura@wasatch.edu Rocky Mountain Middle School: Jan 15/16 oral bee Shauna Kohler • shauna.kohler@wasatch.edu Timpanogos Middle School: oral bee Tara Jarvie • tara.jarvie@wasatch.edu Give Park City Gun Club Membership A Shot Once a member, you’ll receive unlimited shooting with no range fees, priority over non-members, access to a number of exclusive events and classes, and discounts in our pro shop. If you’re looking for action-packed Memberships starting at $35/month The UPS Store Park City, Utah ParkCityGunClub.com [435] 333-4867 |