Christmas Break can be a Gift or a Curse
Robin Wozny
January 08, 2026
Most of our local teams took some time off for the Holidays, so there was a light schedule this week. Let’s take some time to look at some of our local teams’ records, then look ahead into the new year. Christmas break can be both a gift and a curse for coaches. It is a time to take a breath and make plans to work in new offensive and out of bounds plays or implement a different defense. It is also difficult to make schedules work for practice and coaches worry about student-athletes being out of their routines or getting hurt while skiing, snowmobiling, sledding or skating.
The Blue Mountain girls’ team is playing .500 basketball at 1-1. Ava Kingsbury leads the Bucks in three different stats categories (points per game, steals, and free throw percentage), The Lady Olympians are starting the season hot at 4-0. Braylee Phelps has been a standout for the Olympians to this point in the season. Oxbow has many weapons and can go to the bench easily when needed. To this point they are the most well rounded team,with good defense, quickness, outside shooting, and height. New Hampshire starts a bit earlier than Vermont and therefore, has played more games. The Woodsville girls start the season 4-2, they are ranked eighth in Division IV with their two losses to Newmarket and Groveton who are ranked one and two respectively. The girls did, however, pull off a bit of an early season upset beating sixth ranked Littleton.
The BMU boys have started slowly at 0-2, losing to Profile and Rivendell Academy. Jamal Saibou leads the team in scoring and Brody Sott leads the team in rebounding This team has plenty of potential and with new head coach Mike Scott they hope to turn these first few games into a learning experience from which to grow upon. The Oxbow boys had a slow start beginning their season in the Stretch Gillham tournament and losing to Hartford and White River Valley. They then gained their footing by pulling out close victories over rivals Thetford and then an overtime win over Danville. They are led by seniors Jaxon Griffin, Griffin Pike, Johnny Smith, and Jayden Huntoon. The early season for the Woodsville boys has them with a 2-6 record under new head coach Derek Maccini. Woodsville graduated four
starters last year, which has made this early season start understandable but difficult. They hope to improve their record with the leadership of the only returning starter Ryan Walker and his fellow senior teammates, Riley Emmerton, Gavin Lakin, Leon Alcala, and Cowan Kimball.
It’s still early and there is a lot of basketball still to be played, but all of these teams have legitimate aspirations to making play-offs with hopes of hosting a first round game.
You’ve been reading Inside the Huddle, your weekly snapshot of local high school basketball. Walker Motor Sales proudly supports this column—visit their Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram dealership at walkermotor.net.
The Blue Mountain girls’ team is playing .500 basketball at 1-1. Ava Kingsbury leads the Bucks in three different stats categories (points per game, steals, and free throw percentage), The Lady Olympians are starting the season hot at 4-0. Braylee Phelps has been a standout for the Olympians to this point in the season. Oxbow has many weapons and can go to the bench easily when needed. To this point they are the most well rounded team,with good defense, quickness, outside shooting, and height. New Hampshire starts a bit earlier than Vermont and therefore, has played more games. The Woodsville girls start the season 4-2, they are ranked eighth in Division IV with their two losses to Newmarket and Groveton who are ranked one and two respectively. The girls did, however, pull off a bit of an early season upset beating sixth ranked Littleton.
The BMU boys have started slowly at 0-2, losing to Profile and Rivendell Academy. Jamal Saibou leads the team in scoring and Brody Sott leads the team in rebounding This team has plenty of potential and with new head coach Mike Scott they hope to turn these first few games into a learning experience from which to grow upon. The Oxbow boys had a slow start beginning their season in the Stretch Gillham tournament and losing to Hartford and White River Valley. They then gained their footing by pulling out close victories over rivals Thetford and then an overtime win over Danville. They are led by seniors Jaxon Griffin, Griffin Pike, Johnny Smith, and Jayden Huntoon. The early season for the Woodsville boys has them with a 2-6 record under new head coach Derek Maccini. Woodsville graduated four
starters last year, which has made this early season start understandable but difficult. They hope to improve their record with the leadership of the only returning starter Ryan Walker and his fellow senior teammates, Riley Emmerton, Gavin Lakin, Leon Alcala, and Cowan Kimball.
It’s still early and there is a lot of basketball still to be played, but all of these teams have legitimate aspirations to making play-offs with hopes of hosting a first round game.
You’ve been reading Inside the Huddle, your weekly snapshot of local high school basketball. Walker Motor Sales proudly supports this column—visit their Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram dealership at walkermotor.net.
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