{"id":42202,"date":"2023-01-26T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=42202"},"modified":"2023-01-26T06:01:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T11:01:00","slug":"offense-and-defense-together-make-chaisson-a-valuable-contributor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/01\/26\/offense-and-defense-together-make-chaisson-a-valuable-contributor\/","title":{"rendered":"Offense and defense together make Chaisson a valuable contributor"},"content":{"rendered":"
By John Orrell <\/b>
\n Landmark Correspondent<\/i><\/div>\n

HOLDEN \u2014 A two-way basketball player is defined as a player who can proficiently play both offense and defense. They are sometimes referred to as \u201cdouble trouble\u201d because of their role in handling the offensive pressure while simultaneously preventing the other team from scoring. Players lacking the kind of talent and tenaciousness necessary for this role need not apply.<\/p>\n

One student-athlete with these attributes is Wachusett Regional High School\u2019s Jake Chaisson, a guard on the squad\u2019s varsity roster who is currently averaging 10.8 points per game. The 6-foot-1 Chaisson has risen through the ranks competing on various club and travel teams where, with some superior coaching, he has acquired the distinction of being a legit two-way player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a big role being a good two-way player,\u201d explained Chaisson. \u201cYou have to be in really good shape because you oppose teams\u2019 best players 99 percent of the time. Having to be great on defense and then going down on the other end and be good offensively can be tough. But at the end of the day, that\u2019s why I play. I love the challenge and love to play, so it really isn\u2019t asking a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe younger guys really look to me and depend on that kind of assurance that I can take the pressure off of them defensively and still be able to be effective offensively. I think being a two-way player is one of the most valuable things in basketball, as you are able to help the team on both sides of the floor. And if you can play defense, you\u2019ll always get minutes in the game somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJake loves the game of basketball. He\u2019s been our best defensive player and recently our best offensive player,\u201d said veteran WRHS boys varsity head coach Tom Gibbons. \u201cHe\u2019s a great kid, and a tough kid, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chaisson transferred his sports ambitions from football to basketball in his freshman year after sustaining serious injuries on the gridiron in seventh and eighth grades. His basketball stock rose rapidly, climbing the Wachusett ladder to the point where Gibbons named him a co-captain for the 2022-2023 campaign. His new role requires him to interface more than ever with the younger players on the team, offering advice and understanding of what goes into becoming an elite varsity player.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome kids respond better to a more encouraging tone. Others you need to get on them and tell them they have to do things better,\u201d acknowledged Chaisson, who hails from Holden. \u201cIt really depends on the player, but we just keep on going to the next play.<\/p>\n

\u201cPre-game, before we go up to the gym, I get nervous quite a bit. As soon as I get on the court, it just goes away and I\u2019m just playing my game. I try not to have the crowd influence me, but when it\u2019s a big game and you\u2019re making all the plays, it does help with momentum. But if it\u2019s not our game and we\u2019re not doing as good as we should be, I just block it out and try to focus on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team was off to a somewhat sluggish start this season, recording a record of 2-5 with both wins coming off of encounters with Shrewsbury High. The schedule doesn\u2019t get any easier for this Mountaineer bunch, but Chaisson and teammates know that there is still time to turn the tide before post-season selections are made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed that one big win over Shrewsbury to get things going,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the beginning of the season, I don\u2019t think we were playing all together, but with the games coming, you\u2019ll see that there\u2019s better chemistry and flow of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chaisson is currently exploring postgrad options but would like them to include basketball at some level. He hopes to major in business once his Wachusett days are behind him, but until then he\u2019ll continue to enjoy the pride and intense competition of being a Mountaineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good to represent Wachusett,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember when I was younger, I\u2019d go to the games and watch all the players compete, and I knew I couldn\u2019t wait until that was me one day. I\u2019m so glad to be here and so glad to get to play.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOLDEN \u2014 A two-way basketball player is defined as a player who can proficiently play both offense and defense. They are sometimes referred to as \u201cdouble trouble\u201d because of their role in handling the offensive pressure while simultaneously preventing the other team from scoring. Players lacking the kind of talent and tenaciousness necessary for this role need not apply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}