Remember being a kid and getting exactly what you wanted for Christmas?

The only problem was that Santa forgot to bring the batteries.

For Cory Cesare, it’s gathering his team to start practicing for the season and not having the full roster to work with.

Soccer players won a state championship and just came into the gym recently. Meanwhile, the football players were playing in districts and then states and are just going to join the team this week.

Cesare was still in a good mood though, because he knows their absence will bring an intangible that most teams just will not have.

“I think it’s great,” said Cesare about the absences. “Of course, I would like to have the full squad here, but they are gaining experience playing in big games and getting to know what that feels like. I love it when guys play other sports and have success because it makes them better, and prepares them to play in big games, and you can’t teach that. It’s just something they must experience.”

Soccer player Cayden Fitch averaged just over six points per game for Cesare last season, while football quarterback Cade Christopher dropped in nearly 8.5 points per game in his junior season.

Cesare also knows that he has a quality group of players who were good enough to win a summer league championship. While that doesn’t guarantee success this season, it adds to that intangible feeling of having success on the court. Working with the players that he has had in camp has shown him that the commitment is still there, and that he has a team full of young players who are focused on winning.

One thing that Cesare has known since the end of last season is that the Tigers will be a young team. Josh Heilman, Ethan Lazarus, and Dylan Witkowski - who combined to average just over 23 points per game last season - all graduated last spring.

“We were young last season. And we won’t have a lot of seniors on our roster this year,” noted Cesare, who enters his second season as the team’s coach. “We have a lot of guys who are quick and very athletic, and during the summer we really pushed the ball and had a lot of success with that style of play.”

Northwestern will follow the same script as last season, when it looked to keep scores low and win games with their defense. Cesare is looking for his team to bring a lot of energy, and to put a full effort into every game.

“We aren’t going to look to win a lot of games with scores in the 60s. We want to keep games in the 50s, and even in the 40s, because those are the types of games that we will win,” said Cesare. “We can play defense with anybody, and that’s what we focus on first is playing good defense, and winning low-scoring games.”

Northwestern finished last season with a 12-12 overall record after being eliminated in the wild card round of the Colonial League playoffs and exiting in the first round of districts. While that postseason experience helped, the added growth and experience from a successful summer league and fall sports teams going deep into the playoffs will give an added level of swagger to a young team looking to make its mark.

“I love how our guys have come into camp and are approaching the season. Now, we get the guys who were playing football and had a great season there, and it will make us that much better,” said Cesare. “I expect those guys may need a little time to get over some bumps and bruises, but we know how talented they are and what they bring to the floor for us.”