The Carleton Ravens basketball teams will be well prepared for their season opener at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie on Nov. 18.
The men’s basketball team will play 19 exhibition games against Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) opponents before the 19-game regular season gets underway.
Meanwhile, the women’s basketball team will play 14 exhibition games before the season begins, along with three more during the Christmas break.
Last season, the men’s team played 11 exhibition games, while the women’s team played 16.
Ravens women’s basketball head coach Taffe Charles said team coaches arrange exhibition games with each other before the regular season begins.
“The better relationships you have with each coach [lead to exhibition games],” he said.
“At the end of the day, it all depends on who wants to come see you and where you want to go as well,” Charles said.
Ravens forward Heather Lindsay said the exhibition games on the schedule are more than her previous seasons at Carleton.
“We have been fortunate enough to play a lot of schools outside our conference to get a feel for how other schools play and adapt to their different styles,” Lindsay said in an email.
“We travelled out to Saskatchewan last weekend and played against some strong competition from the western conference which was a great learning experience and helped us get a better feel on how to play together and mesh as a team,” she said.
The Ravens exhibition games began in August at the Ravens’ Nest as part of the Can-Am Shootout. The men’s team won all six games against NCAA teams, while the women’s team won one of three games.
Carleton has also competed at tournaments across the country. The women’s team played three games at the University of Regina’s Cougar Classic tournament.
Charles said that taking on unfamiliar teams such as the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina is now less of a challenge by having access to video recordings of previous games.
You still get a decent feel for how they want to play,” he said. “That definitely is a greater advantage than there was in the past.”
“Now playing early is always difficult because you don’t know how they’re going to play—because every year is different,” Charles added.
As part of their exhibition schedule, the men’s basketball team will host a trio of teams as part of the House-Laughton Tournament at the Ravens’ Nest.
While teams are preparing for the regular season well in advance, Lindsay said there are a variety of positives to take away from the games.
“I think the exhibition season is really important in order to warm up for the regular season,” she said. “It’s nice to play some pressure free games and to get some experience before jumping into the regular season where every single game matters.”
“We use this time to get lots of practice in, test out certain plays to see how well they work, and it gives the rookies a chance to get a feel for how to play at this level,” Lindsay said.
A rigorous schedule can occasionally lead to wear and tear on the body, though Lindsay said that the risk of injury in an exhibition game is equal to the risk during practice.
“Practice poses the same threat and since we practice hard every day people do get hurt but thats all a part of the game,” she said. “Thankfully here at Carleton we have a great athletic therapy team that helps players make a speedy recovery.”
