Boys Basketball 

Since Coach Bellefeuille was named Head Coach for Legacy Boys Basketball in August, he’s been working to develop the culture of the Lions Basketball program. He reflects on the phenomenal job of his captains, Justin Demars, Carter Franze, and Primeau Hill, in modeling core values and credits the entire team for owning and personalizing the INVEST culture he originally initiated.

He noticed early on that his Varsity team would be a young one where guys would be asked to play roles that were new to them while at the same time learning an entirely new system of play. Coach Bellefeuille has been pleased with how they’ve responded, noting “I am proud of the boys for stepping up and being the best they can be at their role. It shows that they are more committed to the team’s success over their own personal achievements.”

One season highlight that stands out for him as an example of this was their Homecoming win over Community of Peace. “The atmosphere was electric and the boys loved playing in front of our amazing Legacy community!” He went on to share that the team’s defensive energy, communication, and selflessness on offense were to credit for overcoming shooting struggles. “Young teams tend to find their energy from made baskets and we took a step forward by getting our energy from defensive stops, attacking the boards, and moving the ball until we got a great shot opportunity.”

When asked about the upcoming postseason, Coach didn’t hold back, saying “Our Lions are preparing to make a deep run in the Section 4A tournament!” That tournament begins on March 4. Watch for dates, times, and locations in future eNews and social media postings.

Girls Basketball 

This has been a fun season to be a Lady Lions Basketball fan! The girls went on a 6-game winning streak early in the season that did wonders to solidify their team chemistry and increase confidence. They have had success beating teams that a year ago easily earned the win. Senior Lindsey Smitsdorff leads the team both offensively and defensively, while sophomore Mya Bredemus continually comes through when needed. Eighth grader Hannah Compton is noted as being the team’s best one-on-one defender.

Coach Crutch is looking forward to the postseason as he feels his team hasn’t reached their full potential yet. “Great basketball is coming.”

Boys Hockey

The Lions Hockey team is in a rebuilding year as young players face veteran Varsity squads in the Two Rivers Hockey Conference. However, they are making social media headlines with their post-game prayers at center ice. A long standing tradition in Legacy athletics, the 2018-19 season is the first time we’ve introduced post-game prayer at hockey. Legacy received positive feedback from Sauk Rapids-Rice, Mora, Waconia and more for initiating post-game prayers following the games. As one SRR parent shared with us, “When all is said and done, the score at the end of the game doesn’t matter, THIS is what matters…Keep working for the Kingdom, God bless your team!”

The team will continue to push for a win in their final regular season game at Southwest Christian on Friday, February 15th and when they begin Section play on Tuesday February 19th.

Winter Coop Sports Update

In addition to our in-house teams, Legacy Athletics has been proud to support 6 athletes on co-op teams this winter.

Junior Blake Weiss continues to be a top contributor to the Andover Huskies Nordic Ski team, while first-time skier Jeremy Davie ‘20 learns the ropes alongside him. At Conference Championships Friday February 8, Weiss finished 10th out of 118! In the Section 5 Championship Weiss took 15th out of 84 Varsity skiers just missing the cutoff for State.  He will be participating on the relay team this Wednesday, February 13th with the other top 3 skiers from Andover.

Senior Captain of the Andover Boys Swim Team, Kolton Musgrove ‘19, has captured multiple 1st place finishes between breaststroke and relays this season. Andover Boys Swim and Dive finished their season in 5th place in the NWS conference with a win over Centennial. Up next the team has Section Prelims on Thursday, February 21st and Finals on Saturday, February 23rd. The diving Section finals are held on Friday, February 22nd. All three competitions are held at the Northdale Middle School Pool in Coon Rapids.

In addition, Nick Hoffman ‘21 has seen several Varsity matches for the Huskies Wrestling team this season, while eighth graders Reanna Cruz and Maria Flaherty suited up as Eagles for the first year of our Totino-Grace Girls Hockey co-op. “It was a fabulous experience where I felt very successful, had a lot of fun and enjoyed the relationships I made.” Reanna Cruz