Forest boys’ basketball spends break in Panama City Beach

[submitted by Mike Hoffmann]

The Forest boys’ basketball team is spending quality time together this week, on and off the court.

Head coach Mike Hoffmann was looking for a way to team-build as well as expose his players to different talent and styles of play, so he began researching holiday tournaments close enough for him and his players to travel to.

Hoffmann settled on the Mosley High School Holiday Hoopfest in Panama City Beach, Florida.

“I wanted to get the kids out of town for a few days to team build and experience different competition than what they see in Marion County,” Hoffmann said. “We spend the week together playing basketball and going on team outings.”

One such outing was a day at Dave and Busters, where the players were able to find fellowship together outside of a basketball gym. The team played games, ate together and spent time forging relationships.

Forest won their first game of the tournament beating Ezell Harding from Tennessee, 69-43. Senior Calvin Davison scored 15 points while Brandon Baxley chipped in 14. Zay McCoy had 10 assists in the win.

Their second game was a close loss to Rutherford Panama 47-45.

Hoffmann is excited to see his team grow together and learn how to overcome adversity.

“We are still learning to finish close games,” he said. “In all of our losses we have had a chance to win near the end of the game. Our losses are by an average of 4.8 points,” adding, “We will continue to improve, and this valuable experience will help us close the gap.”

Forest will play their final game of the tournament against North Bay Haven tonight before making the trip home.

Hoffmann says the holiday getaway tradition will continue.

“I want to provide an awesome experience for our kids as a reward for all the hard work they do all year,” Hoffmann said. “Spending a week together is important for our program and culture.”

Forest will continue their regular season schedule at home against Gainesville High School on Jan. 5^th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.