After just one year with Brett Johnson leading the Tiger boys basketball squad, the program brought in 1996 Battle Ground High School grad James Ensley as the new head coach.
Ensley has led the past 10 seasons as the head coach for the Fort Vancouver Trappers. Stepping into the role at Battle Ground High School, Ensley is looking forward to being a part of the younger squad’s growth. The Tigers have just three seniors, three juniors and the rest sophomores and freshmen.
“It’s one of the coolest things in the world,” Ensley said of returning to his old stomping grounds as head coach. “The kids are absolutely wonderful. Everything’s really, really good. I’m really excited about it, and we got some work to do, but they’re really good and responsive kids.”
In his first season, he has postseason hopes, but Ensley said he wants to establish new systems for the present team and the kids coming in the future.
Immediately, Ensley sees the schedule in his first year as a challenge, one he hopes to conquer.
“I’m looking for growth. It’s tough. Our league doesn’t give you any off-nights,” Ensley said of the 4A Greater St. Helens League. “Our schedule doesn’t give you any nights off. We just have to grow and get better as a program all the way through from the freshmen kids all the way through the varsity team.”
The Tigers varsity players will help Ensley lead the team through the tough schedule, however. Boston Walker, a standout senior, will take a bigger role on offense. Other players are poised to be a threat on offense and defense, as well.
“Boston will be really good,” Ensley said, adding that Walker showed what he is capable of during the second game of a jamboree at Skyview High School on Saturday, Nov. 30. “And then I think it’s going to be a team effort of guys who play good basketball. Treydyn [Cornelison] is going to be really awesome, but there are a bunch of guys that are going to play really good basketball and bring it together and play basketball the right way.”
Ensley’s big goal for this year, win or lose, is to make it a good experience for the athletes, he said.
“At the end of the day, 20 years from now, they might remember the record, but they will remember the experiences that they had being a part of Battle Ground basketball,” he said. “And I want, when they have kids, to bring their kids back to Battle Ground and be like this, this is where I was, this is what I did, and these were the great times that I had.”
Entering the season, Ensley knows the Tigers can’t control the outcome of the games, but his team can control their preparation, attitude and effort.
The Tigers kicked their season off with a home match against the Prairie Falcons on Tuesday, Dec. 3, but results were unavailable as of press time. They next host Heritage High School at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in The Cage.
