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On Monday,  Feb. 18, senior Kade Uetz made his varsity debut, sporting #15 on his jersey. Uetz has helped manage the boys varsity team his junior and senior years. He played in his first and last game of varsity basketball as a Blue Jay on his senior night.

“It was something me and the other seniors on the team had been joking about,” Uetz said. “They all talked me into going and talking to Coach (Grant) Young about it.”

Coach Young may not have been expecting such a request, but he ended up helping make senior night a night Uetz would never forget.

“He was kind of hesitant at first, and then he was down for it,” Uetz said. “He told me I had to make all of the practices and just be there with the team as if I was a player.”

Uetz participated in senior night activities and was escorted out on the court by his parents, alongside the other basketball seniors. After honoring the seniors, the game started and so did Uetz.

“It was crazy. It was a lot bigger crowd because it was senior night,” Uetz said. “It was just an unreal experience being out there.”

Toward the end of the game, Uetz was subbed in again, this time to help finish the game alongside the other three seniors. While playing in the last minutes, Uetz hit a 3-point shot, causing the crowd—and the bench—to go crazy.

“It was really cool. I had previously airballed earlier in that game and all the guys were messing with me [about it],” Uetz said. “All the camaraderie between me and the guys, it was just really cool to be able to hit a three and see all of their reactions.”

Uetz enjoyed the playing time, his crowd pleasing performance and most of all, the atmosphere of the whole night.

“The energy of the entire thing [was most memorable]. You could see how excited and happy everyone was to be there and just rooting on each other,” Uetz said. “There were just tons of positive vibes, and it was a great experience.”