After beating Faith Christian, the middle school girls team won the Conference Championship! Anyone who watched the girls play would say that they are very smart and hard working players at such a young age. These girls sure were fun to watch! 

The middle school boys team had an amazing season with a record of 14-0. After watching these boys play, I feel confident that their teams will be good for years to come. The boys share the ball well, play as a team, and 110% effort is displayed at all times. The future is bright!

The JV girls team ended the season strong, coming just a few points short of winning the CIC championship. This team had the combined efforts of many grade levels, and when playing together they proved to be a solid contender.

The JV boys team had a remarkable undefeated season finishing as regular season and conference tournament champions. In the championship game, they played against crosstown rival Faith Christian, quickly proving their dominance on the court! We know we will continue to see big things from these boys in the future. 

After a three way tie for first seed in the conference, seed numbers were drawn out of a hat, and the varsity girls ended up third. The girls team played against Kerr Vance Academy at Rocky Mount Academy on Tuesday the 9th. They defeated Kerr Vance in a 52-25 point sweep, with points on the board from all of the nine girls on the team. The teamliness shown from this game made it arguably one of the best they’ve played yet. However, after a hard fought game at Halifax, the girls came up short.

The varsity boys basketball team was very successful this year. After going into the tournament as the first seed, they played against Oakwood, who was a tough team to beat. The boys then wiped out Faith Christian in the championship! The ability on this team is unreal, and the effort the boys put in on the court is fun to watch. The boys have a relatively large team, with many versatile players. As most of the team is young, there are high hopes for the team for years to come!

More from the coaches:

Cameron Ramsey, Middle School Girls Coach

What do you enjoy most about coaching? “Interacting and truly getting to know our student athletes is what I enjoy most about coaching. I love how athletics can teach numerous life lessons and contribute to shaping a young person’s life. Developing a strong work ethic, interacting with people from different backgrounds, and overcoming adversity are a few skills athletics can provide.

What was the most memorable part/highlight of this season? “The highlight of the season was winning the middle school conference tournament. Not only did Faith beat us the week before, but we were also missing 4 players when we played them in the championship game. Our girls could have quit when we were down in the first half, but they fought through the adversity and found a way to win the big game. I was SO proud of them!”

What was your favorite part about coaching your team? “My favorite thing about coaching the Middle School Girls team is how they showed up to practices and games every single day. I never once had to question their effort or energy, and they were always eager to learn and get better. Energy and effort are two things that YOU, as a player, can always control and should never let it be questioned. These girls brought it day in and day out. It made me, as a coach, want to match that and make sure they knew I would always give everything I had each time we stepped on the floor.”

Ivy Powell, middle school boys coach

What do you enjoy most about coaching? “The thing I enjoyed most about coaching was the players. Coaching these young men has been a pleasure. They accepted the challenges of a new coach with a different philosophy and they ran with it. The work they did preparing for each game was extremely courageous as new challenges were placed in front of them each day. The communication between them was growing each day and they worked very well together to accomplish their goals.”

What was the most memorable part/highlight of this season? “My most memorable part of the season was watching these young men accomplish their goals they set at the beginning of the season. The first game for the Conference Team was a buzzer beater win. Their composer and willingness to execute with calmness and confidence showed me that we were in for something special. This was a foreshadowing of things to come as the season would unfold.”

What was your favorite part about coaching your team? “My favorite part of this team were the young men! Each day at practice, I couldn’t wait to see what opportunities would present themselves. These young men worked hard each day, accepting a new philosophy and learning the game of basketball.”

Gayle High, JV girls coach

“I loved coaching this JV Girls Basketball Team this year for many reasons. My top three would have to be:

1. The way they came to practices and games smiling, thankful and grateful  to be enjoying the great game of basketball during a pandemic.
2. The way they unselfishly shared the ball with each other on the court.
3. The smiles these ladies brought to my face everyday with their giggles, humor,  personalities and love for each other.”

What was the most memorable part/highlight of the season? “The KVA home redemption game day when the JV girls battled and played their best game all season to handily beat a team that had beaten them badly earlier in the season.”

What was your favorite part about coaching your team? “My favorite part about coaching basketball  is getting to share what I love with these student athletes and watching them return the basketball love.”

Eric Gutschall, JV boys coach

What do you enjoy most about coaching? “I like anything related to sports and now that I’m getting too old to compete in a lot of sports at the level I like to, coaching is the next best thing.”

What was the most memorable part/highlight of this season? “Going undefeated and specifically beating Wayne Country Day.”

What was your favorite part about coaching your team? “These guys wanted to win every game as badly as I did and it didn’t take much to get them motivated. They were always ready to go with 100% effort.”

Katherine Johnson, varsity girls coach

What do you enjoy most about coaching? “I think what I enjoy most about coaching is the camaraderie, the laughter, and most of all watching a group come together and really respect and appreciate each other as friends and teammates!”

What was the most memorable part/highlight of this season? “The most memorable part of this season was our first game against Halifax. I couldn’t be there but I was able to watch our team through Zoom and Facetime, and they played their best game of the season!”

What was your favorite part about coaching your team? “My favorite part about coaching this team was our practice time. No two days were the same and no two weeks were the same. But during Covid craziness we figured out a way to make it happen and win some good games and share a lot of laughs!”

Terrell Hudgins, varsity boys coach

What do you enjoy most about coaching? “What I enjoy most about coaching is having an impact on the student-athletes becoming better players and better people.” 

What was the most memorable part/highlight of this season? “The most memorable moment was coming back after being down 18 against Oakwood, to tie for 1st place as Conference Champs.”

What was your favorite part about coaching your team? “My favorite part about coaching these young men was seeing them become a team that cared about each other and a team that played for each other.”