Palm Desert basketball returns to indoor practice, first DSUSD program to do so

The Palm Desert High School boys basketball team returned to regular indoor practices on Friday.

"Let's put it this way… practice was scheduled for two, two and a half hours and we went about… a little over three because we couldn't get the kids out of the gym. It's one of those ones… it felt like, you know, put every holiday together. It was that, times ten," said Palm Desert's head basketball coach Justin Sobczyk.

This comes after Desert Sands Unified School District approved indoor sports to return following coronavirus testing.

"It was a blessing. I just called my teammates and we just all were happy that we're able to get back in the gym and play with each other," said Palm Desert senior point guard Deandre Sanders.

"It means everything, cause like, I've been playing ball since I was three-years-old and you don't know if you get to play at the next level or keep going, so this may or may not be my last go at it," said Miles Weaver, a senior guard for Palm Desert.

The Aztecs were tested on Wednesday, becoming the first DSUSD high school basketball team to get back in the gym.

"They've fought the hard part. Now, they're getting rewarded, right. We've been saying for months, we're going to get back in, we're going to get back in, without fully knowing, and when we got that call, this is the reward. The season's the reward. Now we're going to go out, we're going to compete our butts off and try to win a league championship, but it's special that these guys have really, really fought through everything and never gave up," Sobczyk said.

Other DSUSD programs are expected to begin practicing on Monday with games starting the following week.

"It's going to be overwhelming. Probably like my first time ever stepping on the court," Sanders said of what it will be like stepping on the court for the first game of his senior season.

Now, it should be noted that Palm Desert's rival Xavier Prep has been practicing for weeks now. Xavier is a private school, able to operate without approval from local school districts.

The Saints have their first game on Tuesday, March 30th. Both the boys and girls programs will make their season debut against Aquinas.

Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 for coverage of those games and all local sporting events throughout the rest of the season.