Elmwood boys believe they’re ready to contend for SLL title

JERRY CITY — Elmwood’s boys might be a bit under the radar in terms of the best teams in the Suburban
Lakes League.
Sure, defending champion Eastwood is likely to contend for the championship again, and Genoa returns most
of its players from last season. But the Royals and second-year head coach Ty Traxler believe they are
ready to make some noise in the SLL.
“Everybody is real excited. We’ve got six returning letter winners on varsity, which they all contributed
a ton to our success last year,” Traxler said. “Our biggest thing, which we talk about every day, is we
want to get over that hump and put some banners on the wall. That’s the next step.”
Elmwood had a somewhat surprising season last year, finishing second in the SLL at 10-4 and 13-9 overall.
Eastwood was a perfect 14-0 in the league to win the SLL last season.
“We had a nice year last year. It took us a while to transition a little bit, but once we got rolling, we
got rolling,” said Traxler, who had served as an assistant for previous head coach Doug Reynolds.
The Royals have a strong nucleus back from last year, including four seniors who Traxler is expecting to
be leaders.
“Our four seniors are going to have to carry the load, not necessarily in scoring but in leadership,”
Traxler said.
Senior wing Adam Tyson (6-foot-2) led the team in scoring at 10 points per game last season, and Elmwood
will look for a balanced attack on offense once again.
Four-year letter winner Tyler Chamberlain (5-11, wing) averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last
season. Senior point guard and three-year letter winner Reid Rothenbuhler (5-11) led the team with an
average of 4.4 assists per game last season. The final senior letter winner is guard Michael Huettner,
who averaged 6.3 ppg game in 12 games before being injured last season.
“Our top nine, I’m real confident in being able to change them at a whim. They’re all just real solid
contributors willing to do the little things for us,” Traxler said. “They can all score. All nine of
them have the potential. We’re going to be tough to scout because I don’t think we have that one guy.”

That top nine includes the final two letter winners from last season — juniors Jack Waldock (5-11, guard)
and Jay Hannah (6-0, wing). Hannah averaged 5.9 ppg last season.
Traxler also pointed to three juniors to play important roles that will be varsity newcomers: T.J.
Waldock (6-0, wing), Andrew Davis (5-10, guard), and Kevin Hammer (6-1, wing).
“Offensively, that’s our biggest strength,” said Traxler of his team’s depth. “Hopefully each team has a
weak defender that we can exploit because we’re going to have five guys on the floor that can score at
all times.
“I really believe we have nine guys that can put the ball in the basket.”
Size will be an issue for the Royals, as no player is listed above 6-2.
“We don’t have size, obviously. That’s a drawback. But we definitely have speed and aggressive kids so
that will serve us well,” Traxler said.
Traxler pointed to Eastwood and Genoa as the obvious contenders in the league, adding the league is very
strong.
“Our league, it was tough last year … It’s going to be a lot more balanced this year,” Traxler said.
“Eastwood didn’t lose much. Genoa has all their key players back.”
Elmwood has also beefed up its non-league schedule, adding New Riegel and McComb along with
Liberty-Benton, to prepare for one of the toughest sectionals in the state in Division III. Teams in
Elmwood’s sectional include Liberty-Benton, Patrick Henry, Ottawa-Glandorf, and Riverdale.
ELMWOOD BOYS SCHEDULE
Dec. 5 — at Liberty-Benton
Dec. 8 — at McComb
Dec. 11 — at Lake#
Dec. 17 — at Genoa#
Dec. 19 — at Wauseon
Dec. 22 — NEW RIEGEL
Jan. 5 — EASTWOOD#
Jan. 8 — PATRICK HENRY
Jan. 14 — OTSEGO#
Jan. 16 — at Van Buren
Jan. 19 — WOODMORE#
Jan. 22 — at Gibsonburg#
Jan. 28 — LAKE#
Feb. 2 — GENOA#
Feb. 5 — at Eastwood#
Feb. 13 — LAKOTA
Feb. 16 — at Otsego#
Feb. 19 — at Woodmore#
Feb. 23 — TOLEDO CHRISTIAN
Feb. 26 — GIBSONBURG#
#—Suburban Lakes League games