By: Kalia Inman
The official 2023-2024 season has commenced for the Bergen Bulldogs Women’s Basketball team. The team currently has an overall record of 1-4; however, this is just the beginning for these women. The Bulldogs have completed about a fifth of the games they have scheduled for the season, ranging from November to mid-February.
It is still the beginning of the season and the Bulldogs have high hopes. The Torch had the opportunity to stop by one of their practices and have a chat with head coach Sean Pekarsky and team captain, Nya Duran.
It is central to keep in mind that Bergen Community College is only a two-year college. This indicates many players only get the Bergen athletics experience for two years. With four returning players—Charmaigne Alcober, Duran, Melody Peralta, and Josselyn Nantipia—Coach Pekarsky emphasizes that his goals are “to build team chemistry and have a winning attitude.”
It is Coach Pekarsky’s first year coaching here at Bergen, and he describes his coaching style as “a player’s coach.” Before Bergen, Pekarsky coached high school basketball for 17 years at Paramus Catholic.
“I do have discipline from being a teacher, but I do want them to enjoy playing basketball and have fun,” he comments.
Captain Duran agrees that having fun is most important for her and her teammates this season.
She states, “My goal is going to sound a little clique but it’s just to have fun. I know that sometimes when you get to this type of level of playing, you kind of get the fun sucked out of the sport. So, I’m just here to have fun with my teammates and learn something new every day.”
Sophomore point guard, Nya Duran has been playing basketball competitively since the seventh grade.
Duran, however, claims the speed of collegiate basketball is much quicker than high school, “because everyone around you is going to be bigger, stronger, and faster.” When Duran began to play at Bergen, a key adjustment she had to make was in her time management skills.
Since she is a biology major, “the classes and everything obviously are harder and a lot more work than in high school,” she states.
More intense games call for more extensive preparation. For this reason, Duran makes sure to get enough sleep, in order to stay prepared both mentally and physically.
“Or I try to at least,” she adds, “because everyone has other outside factors like work, class, and family, and all of those types of things. But you just have to make sure that you’re keeping your mind and your body right.”
How a player carries him or herself is very important to Duran, which is why her favorite basketball player is Kyrie Irving.
She continues, “I mean he’s a point guard, and then I like his attitude on and off the court. I like humble players.
The Bergen Bulldogs Women’s Basketball team still has a long way to go till the end of the season. With roughly 15 games remaining, there is no telling how the season will play out.
For more information about the Bergen Bulldogs check
https://www.bergenccbulldogs.com/sports/wvball/index or follow @bergenathletics on Instagram.