As 2007 slips away, and questions about what’s in store for 2008 slide to the forefront of the mind, it’s hard not to look back on what was a very memorable year for the Free State High basketball programs.

While both the boys and girls teams have tipped off the 2007-2008 season and are busy looking ahead, two mementos remain in place that will keep the 2006-2007 season fresh in the minds of everyone who enters the FSHS gym for years to come.

They’re not the biggest and they’re not the most impressive, but they are the newest banners hanging above the south bleachers. White with green letters, they’re the first in school history to include the word “basketball,” and the third-place banners raised by the boys and girls basketball teams last season serve as a constant reminder of how far the programs have come.

“It was a great accomplishment,” boys coach Chuck Law said. “And we’ll use that as a motivational tool this season. One way will be to reflect on a year that was a roller coaster the entire way but also as a device that says, ‘Look wht can happen when you work hard, defend and come together for a common goal.'”

Only a couple of this year’s Firebirds had much to do with hanging the boys banner. Seniors Weston Wiebe, Craig Rosenstengle and Kris Johnson saw regular playing time last season. All three are looking forward to adding their own legacy to the Free State program.

“I like seeing that banner up there,” Wiebe said. “It gives us something to work at. Last year’s seniors left something for us to build on and we’re taking that to heart.”

So far so good. The Firebirds have raced out to a 5-1 start and currently are riding a four-game winning streak.

Similar sentiments come from the Free State girls. Senior Sarah Craft and juniors Taylor Manning and Maggie Hull are the only members of this year’s team who contributed regularly to last year’s third-place run. With new talent in to fill out the lineup, along with the banner to motivate them, this year’s crew has aspirations of adding on.

“It makes me want to go back,” said Manning of looking up at the banner. “It makes me want more.”

Craft, a part-time starter last year and undisputed team leader this year, said the banner brings back a flood of memories from last season.

In addition to being motivated by the banner waving above her head, Craft said she realized that having it meant having a target on her team.

“I like it,” Craft said. “It’s going to be a challenge. (Being a target is) not a burden, it’s a goal and something we’ll work hard to achieve.”

In many ways, this year’s basketball players at Free State are content to forget about the banners. That was last year and this is a new season. Every once in a while, though, the eyes of the players and coaches – new and old – drift to the rafters and bask in the glow of the memorable accomplishment.

Although the banners have dangled from the ceiling for several months, Law admits that he finds himself staring upward almost daily, his mind dancing with memories of last year’s run.

“I look at it pretty regularly,” he said with a smile. “I think the banner got us some respect from the league but we still have some proving to do. I won’t be completely content until there’s one up there that says state champions. That’s the ultimate.”