Coming off an impressive season, the Goshen Eagles basketball team has hit the court this summer with a goal of getting to Birmingham for the state finals.

The Eagles have been practicing for almost a week.

“We are trying to get their legs back underneath them and have fun,” said Eagles head coach Ethan Carroll. “We have 12 juniors and 1 sophomore this year so we are still young. We are excited to be able to play a little basketball.”

Last season, Goshen finished with an 18-12 record and lost in overtime during the region championship. This summer players are focused on taking the next step.

“As a coach the one thing you always worry about is complacency,” Carroll said. “We want to go to Birmingham. That was our goal last year and that is our goal this year. They are hungry and that gets the coaches excited to see that they are focused during the middle of the summer.”

The main purpose of these practices is to teach the players.

“We are going to change things up defensively since we are in a different area,” he said. “We want to play with a quicker pace and be more competitive. We need all these days we can get to teach this defense.”

In the 2016-2017 season the Eagles will enter a new region that includes Central-Hayneville, Luverne and Calhoun.

“We are very excited,” Carroll said. “This area is very competitive. In my opinion, it is probably one of the more competitive areas in the state.”

While some teams will use the extended practice time to play games, the Eagles will focus much of their time practicing.

“We want to practice,” Carroll said. “I think it’s important for us to grasp what we are doing and how and why we are doing it before turning them loose. The biggest thing for me is we want to teach basketball as much as we can.”

The Eagles will play three games in Kinston on Thursday, before playing two area opponents in Luverne and Calhoun on Friday in Luverne.