The Landstown High School boys’ varsity basketball team is renowned for its incredible athletes and domination over the rest of the Virginia Beach schools; currently, they are recognized as number one in the district.
This is a remarkable accomplishment not every team can come close to achieving, yet the LHS team proudly boasts being on top of their league. That’s what makes Landstown so distinctive from the other schools: their team outshines the other teams in each and every aspect, but not without extensive training and discipline.
So what makes the basketball team so strong? Dwight Robinson, the coach of the team for 25+ years, stated his priorities when it comes to establishing the unrelenting team.
“Number one, we need to be in great shape: we play fast; we’re super aggressive, so I think that’s something that’s huge for us, being in great shape. Number two, being good communicators so that we all know what we’re doing so we’re on the same page all the time. And there’s got to be a sense of toughness where we’re a disciplined team, and so I preach discipline; I preach knowing your assignments and playing for each other, being unselfish.”
When it comes to great shape, Robinson implements intensive training sessions for the athletes.
Alan Walker, a 12th grader in the team playing as the center, stated how physically strenuous training is.
“They’re intense, especially if you’re preparing for a game. Oftentimes they’re more intense than the game,” he stated.
Damian Robinson, a 10th grader in the team who plays as the point guard, corroborated this sentiment. “They’re very intense. We yell at each other; if somebody messes up, we’ll yell at them and get on them.”
Additionally, Coach Robinson emphasized how important it is for the athletes to give it their all and not compromise their capabilities.
“I want to see great effort, and I want us to try to execute as best as possible. I’m a little upset about if we don’t give great effort. We’re not going to always execute, but giving great effort is something we can always control.”
It doesn’t solely take hard training sessions to be a competitive player. These athletes must cram time in training along with their already busy schedules. Coach Robinson elaborates on this commitment.
“They continue to fight, they continue to show up and try to be better every day. It’s not easy to play here because it’s so demanding. And our guys practice six days a week and they lift three days a week in season.”
“So we’re always working our behind off to be better, and they’re practices are tough. So those guys [are] going through the process and being able to balance school, work, life and basketball. It’s tough.”
Robinson elaborated on his basketball coach persona to how it extends to his philosophy about life.
“It’s all a learning tool, everything that you do, and I believe this about life: everything that you do, everything that happens, you take it as a learning lesson because it’s going to help you somewhere down the line; you just don’t know when or where. And so we had won nine straight [games], and then we went down to Charlotte and we lost two in a row. And it really gave me an assessment; I was able to assess where we were in the process to get to our ultimate goals. So that’s what’s important that we continue to grow and learn from every experience, good or bad, in order to help us get better.”
The basketball ball team shows grit through their relentless determination to become the best they can both during practice and the game. It isn’t enough to just show up; the athletes must constantly develop their discipline, balance their schedules, and exhibit their skills through the movement of the ball and the crisp swish of the net.