Lisle, like many other schools in the Midwest, has endured coaching changes within the past few years.
The coaching change from Coach Mark Lascala to Coach Andrew Weber in the 2022-2023 season forced the Lions basketball team to adapt to new circumstances.
Weber’s 14 years of coaching experience, including years of coaching at the collegiate level, made him prepared to take the torch as head coach of the Lisle Lions basketball team. He was hired as the new head coach of the Lisle Basketball program for the 2022-2023 season, where he led the Lions to a 10-4 record within the Illinois Central Eight conference ( MaxPreps). With their 3rd place finish last year in the Illinois Central Eight conference, positive change is expected for this upcoming season.
Even in pre-season, the Lions have been practicing as much as they can. Since most athletes are in fall sports Monday through Saturday, Weber has been implementing “Sunday Shotmakers” to give those planning on playing basketball the opportunity to maintain practice at least once a week, even when in multiple sports.
For those not playing a sport this season, Weber has been leading different camps to enhance his players’ abilities. Over the summer, Coach Weber held multiple practices and scrimmage games against local teams.
One returning starter in Senior Drew Nigro caused a lot of seniors to step up and showed their abilities to lead the Lions team to victory.
Weber states, “The biggest advantage of our school is the amount of dedicated kids we have…We have basketball athletes, not football players trying to play basketball.”
The main goal of this year for the Lions is to win the conference. Their biggest competition is expected to be Streator, with their multiple returning starters from last season.
The Lions will kick off their season against West Chicago, at their annual Thanksgiving tournament hosted at Lisle Senior High School starting November 11th, 2023.
