Junior forward, Matthew Heyne, was introduced to flag football, baseball, and basketball all at once, but “Basketball just stood out most,” says Heyne. He began playing in the third grade and hasn’t looked back since, he just continues to improve his craft for the sport he loves most.

This season Heyne is striving to find the true meaning in the brotherhood of basketball, aiming to create more of a connection between himself and his teammates. Heyne acknowledges that “There’s always personal skills you can work on in a sport,” but overall he believes that “ it’s really just about the team.” Heyne hopes to grow closer with his team as a whole, setting not only a strong connection for this year but for all those yet to come.

Not only does Heyne work hard to be outstanding on the court, but he also excels in academics. It isn’t as easy as it may seem, however. He emphasizes how balancing homework with games and practices is one of the hardest things about being a student-athlete.
Heyne was injured for the entirety of last season and he is currently working on maintaining his durability. With 28 games in the season, he recognizes how hard it is to keep his body maintained while also avoiding injury.

Matt has been playing on varsity for the past two seasons and was the only freshman to make it on the team his first year. With high expectations, Heyne tells me how scary it was to be on varsity at first, “but once you get on the court and play the game, you realize that it’s just you and your team.”