Last year, from Dec. 17 to 18 2021, Germantown Academy Patriots competed in a basketball tournament to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Make-a-Wish is an organization that grants wishes—like a trip to Disney World and or a quinceañera—to children fighting critical illnesses. 2020 was the first year in decades that the GA Make-a-Wish tournament was canceled, making our community eager to host it again in 2021. The tournament, in honor of Jim Fenerty, has been re-named the “Fenerty Make-a-Wish Tournament.” The late basketball coach’s honor and dedication towards the school will be remembered forever. GA’s basketball teams were ready to give their all for this very important event.
Team Captains Casey Traina ‘22 and Jake Hsu ‘22 were prepared to lead the boys basketball team. Hsu and Casey both had an extremely close relationship with Coach Fenerty. In fact, Traina says, “Coach Fenerty was incredibly close with my family. I’ve known him well since I was in 6th grade and my siblings even earlier. It’s amazing to see his legacy persist through so many facets of GA, including the Make-a-Wish tournament.” He adds, “It’s my third Make-a-Wish tournament as a player, and the last two years have felt much longer without it. It’s always my favorite game of the season and easily the best attended.”
The girls basketball team was led by Kendall Bennett ‘23 and Alex Goodridge ‘22. When asked about the tournament, Goodridge said, “I am super excited! Not only is it exciting to be back after no tournament last year, but I’m also excited to be able to honor Mr. Fenerty and all he has done for the GA community in such a unique way.” On the influence of the crowd, Goodridge said, “If the audience is loud, it makes the team more excited! We feed off the audience’s energy, so it’s a great experience to have a big crowd.” Germantown Academy students were excited to be a part of this energizing event.
On leading the boys squad this year, Traina said, “It feels strange being captain now, with younger players looking up to me, but it’s a position I take very seriously and am proud to hold.” Hsu added, “I feel very honored to be a captain of this team. In the Make-a-Wish tournament, especially, I feel a responsibility to be a good example and good leader for my teammates.” The dedication that these captains have for their team to help out sick children and honor Coach Fenerty is inspiring to many around the community.
The Make-a-Wish tournament was a very successful event. The girls basketball team won 80 to 33 against the Peddie School on Saturday and 64 to 17 against the Freire school on Sunday. The boys team was also able to pull off two fantastic games. On Saturday the boys team won against the Palumbo school with a score of 66 to 37. On Sunday, they were able to defeat the Freire school with a score of 59 to 29. Congrats to both the girls and boys team!
With all of the support from the school community, the tournament raised $7969. Thank you to all of the students, faculty, alumni and community members who donated to this important cause.