The Moorestown Friends boys' basketball team sat in the stands during the first game of a boy/girl doubleheader against Baptist a week before Christmas, and head coach Ryan Winkelspecht didn't need to point out his two captains.

Instead, the average observer could easily figure it out by the body language not only of Winkelspecht and his coaching staff but of the team itself.

As the girls' game played out in front of him, Winkelspecht leaned back and said three very simple words. Three words that said plenty about what he expected form his team and who to show them the way.

"Drew, it's time," Winkelspecht said.

For Moorestown Friends, the season will unfold under the guidance of seniors Drew Haines and Curran Ellis. Ellis will do his part by example, as the 6-foot-4 center embodies the strong, silent type persona. Haines, well, understand that the Foxes point guard is a little more effusive.

"He is very vocal," Winkelspecht said with a smile. "He's the one who lets everyone know where they are supposed to be and what their role is. He's a great kid and between the two of them we are very fortunate to have a perfect tandem for co-captains.

"We've had a couple kids step up, as well, including Jake Brown, Mike Cunningham and especially [freshman Dan Richards]. But they've played well, because Curran and Drew have led our team like captains should."

Moorestown Friends is off to a 4-1 start and look to carry that momentum into January when the Friends League season begins. That's no easy task but for a team that has a good feel for itself, anything remains possible and Haines for one isn't about to let his team get overwhelmed playing against some of the league's heavyweights.

"We understand that in our league, there will be nights that we just don't match up very well with whomever we're playing," Haines said. "But that's part of the challenge. The only way to learn and get better is by facing challenges head on. Our approach is simple, every night we have to believe we have a shot and to just stay positive."

It's that type of philosophy that Haines carries onto the floor with him each and every night and its best demonstrated by hi efforts on the defensive end of the court. The Foxes have scorers, and in fact have been able to spread out their attack quite well over the first five games of the season. That in turn takes some pressure off of Haines, who is more of a facilitator on offense and more importantly a tireless worker on defense.

"That's the end of the court where he is most important to us," Winkelspecht said. "In our opener, he didn't score but he had six steals. That's how his line is most every night. He brings energy to the floor and to our game and that's something that doesn't show up on the stat sheet."

Haines is also a realist. The senior knows that when he gets to college, sports will be more of a spectator sport or intramural activity and he's comfortable with that since he's looking to attend a school bigger than the one he currently attends.

"Moorestown Friends is a great place for me," the Medford resident said. "It's a small school in which everyone does know each other and everyone cares about one another. I know it sounds cliché but it's a community between the students and teachers.

"In college, I don't know, I think I want to experience a different atmosphere. I want to go to a bigger university and study some kind of sports medicine, kinesiology. Sports have always been a part of my life so it will continue to be so. I'm looking into North Carolina Chapel Hill and Penn State. I've been accepted to Penn State and I'm waiting to hear from UNC. It's a way to keep sports in my life."