Playing with confidence: Wingate boys are on the rise after tumultuous three-year period

WINDOW ROCK – For the past few seasons, the Wingate boys basketball team has endured some tough times.

The Covid-19 pandemic wiped away years of stability for the once-strong program that is headed by longtime coach Al Martinez.

“When you have losing seasons, it makes you question yourself,” Martinez said. “It makes you question if the things that you’re doing are correct, so these last few years has been a journey.

“It’s been a long process for me personally,” he added. “It’s been three years now that we’ve had some tough times. It’s been hard, but I have to give credit to all the kids that played for me during those three years after Covid. They came out and did what they could, and they laid the foundation to what we have now.”

And although the Bears enter the new year with a 3-5 record, Martinez likes the direction his team is headed as the Bears started the season with a competitive schedule.

Wingate opened the season playing the likes of West Las Vegas, Mesa Vista, Española Valley and Bosque as all those teams made the state playoffs last season in their respective classifications.

“This year I scheduled up,” Martinez said while adding that he dubbed those four games as “Hell Week.”

“All of those teams have really shaped us,” Martinez said. “We’re playing a lot more half-court defense than we’ve had in the past. We’re a lot quicker, but we do play a little bit out of control, but I don’t want to hold them back because they have the skills and the talent.”

Martinez is OK having his team make mistakes when they’re “going 100 miles per hour,” as the team is comprised of four seniors, three juniors and six sophomores. Two of those sophomores – Mathew Whitehair and Jeridan Sam – are starters.

“I’ll take that because as far as growth we’re headed on the right path,” the Wingate coach said.

Compared to the previous two seasons junior guard Rylie Morgan and senior Arwin Thompson have noticed a change. They both agree that the team is playing with more confidences.

“When I first started playing, our varsity team was mostly underclassmen,” Thompson said. “We had mostly freshmen and sophomore and now we’re a bit older. We just all grew as a team and that’s why we’re playing a lot better.”

“We’ve been together for a long time,” Morgan added. “We played with each other since elementary school, so I think the chemistry that we have is a lot stronger. I think that’s what’s bringing the program back up.”

Martinez says he’s been getting a lot of help from assistant coach AD Jim, who served as the head football coach last fall.

“We’ve been working together for a while,” the Wingate coach said. “We have the same kids from football to basketball and that makes a difference. I think that’s the key because they already know how to work together, and they know each other.

Starting with tonight’s contest at Jemez Valley, the Bears has five nondistrict games before they start District 1-3A play with Crownpoint on Jan. 15.

Martinez believes defending 3A state champs Navajo Prep and Tohatchi are the teams to beat in the six-team district that includes Thoreau, Newcomb and Zuni.

“By no means are we near the Tohatchi’s or Navajo Prep’s,” Martinez said. “You know, those teams and Crownpoint have dominated the district for the last three years. But I think we can challenge for a top 3 finish in our district.

“We’re still trying to put it all together,” Martinez added. “By no means are we a finished product, but we’re growing, and we’re learning. We haven’t won a lot of games so that’s the biggest thing, we have to learn how to win. We’re trying hard to get that winning attitude.”

Thompson, who has been with the varsity program since his freshman year, is feeling optimistic about their chances for a top finish in district.

“That is what we’re aiming for,” Thompson said. “These last couple of years have been hard. Due to Covid, we lost a lot of students, but I’m very confident that we can compete with all the teams in our district.

“I feel like we’re up there,” he added. “We’re a good team.”

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