Senior Has Never Won a Varsity Basketball Game

Jack Bixler is trying to win his first basketball game this year.
By Daniel O’Malley 
Sports Editor  

Senior Jack Bixler loves basketball, and he has one goal on his mind as he begins his final year on the Varsity Basketball team: “To put all my effort to win one game — not two, just one. I don’t know the last time I won a game.” 

This is because Jack has never won a Varsity basketball game in his two seasons playing on the school’s Varsity team. He described the feeling as “awful.” “You work hard all year. You practice and practice all year, and then you get blown out every game.” 

He did say some highlights of his high school basketball career since he started playing sophomore year were when “Jake Brightbill scored 20 points in a game last year”, and when “Bryan King had a last-second shot last year.” “We didn't win the game,” Jack said, “but it was still awesome.” 

Jack said the team has been “competitive in a couple games.” Perhaps the most competitive game was against Delaware Valley Friends School last year. The game was close, but Jack got frustrated after some bad calls, so “I slammed the basketball against the court after I got a foul. That was my sixth foul, so I fouled out” — and the team lost. 

He said that he has gotten frustrated “multiple times.” To handle this frustration, “I try to make it as fun as possible. I don’t look at the scoreboard. I just make jokes and laugh with my friends,” he said, adding, “Practices are also fun.” 

His teammate, senior Will Boswinkel, said that Jack “always has a positive attitude.” “He is a guy who just wants to work hard and win,” Will said. 

Jack — who served as a captain last season — said that in order for the team to win a game this season, “We need to take one game at a time. We need to put all of our work into it. We can’t get down. We can still come back if we are losing. If we get upset, it’s over.” Then, he added, “We need to be positive.”
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Woodlynde School is a private, co-ed college prep day school located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves intelligent, talented students with learning differences in grades K - 12. Woodlynde provides a comprehensive, evidence-based Kindergartenelementarymiddle and high school program in a challenging yet nurturing environment for students with average to above average cognitive abilities (IQ) who have language- or math-based learning differences (such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia), Executive Function Challenges, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Auditory Processing Disorder. Even for those students without a diagnosed learning disability (LD), Woodlynde offers expert and caring teachers in small classroom settings that support academic success. Woodlynde School also offers a post-graduate (PG) program in partnership with Rosemont College as well as a regional Summer Camp for students who learn differently.