With fall in full swing and basketball season approaching, all three boys’ basketball teams served at Grace Avenue United Methodist Church on Wednesday to help set up the church’s annual pumpkin patch.

“We have a chance to get out in the community and get away from the basketball court and do something for somebody else,” head basketball coach Stephen Friar said. “The church has always asked for volunteers and we’ve always just wanted to do something for somebody that’s not ourselves. So we like the camaraderie and we like the fact it’s become a tradition for us.” 

Not only did the community benefit, but the event also served as a team bonding moment to connect all of the teams.

“This was an amazing bonding experience,” varsity senior Kaden Groom said. “Anytime you can get out and go help the community is amazing but when you can do that while having fun with your teammates it’s amazing. All the jokes, the laughs and the memory of how we got something done together as a team that would’ve been extremely hard for us to do individually made it such a great team bonding moment.”

This year marks the ninth year the program has volunteered with this event, and Friar believes it is a rite of passage for the players.

“We’re always so intentional about being on the court and doing things together and this is something just one more thing to add to that so we are off the court and coming together for the same goal,” Friar said. “It’s one of those things where I can look back nine years ago and see guys that are now graduated and in college that did this pumpkin patch. It’s like a rite of passage if you were going through our basketball program.”