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PAGE 4B -- THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2007 EJCHS Girls' Basketball EJCHS Boys' Basketball Lady Eagles Will Start Making The Traditions By Brandon Reed Most teams starting their basketball seasons have past team performances, expectations and tradition looming over them as they run onto the court for the first game of the season. East Jackson girls’ basketball coach Amy Larimer says she wants her girls to hit the court with the mindset that they are setting their own traditions this year. “This is the start of a tradition, and everything that happens from here on, you’re setting the expectation of the Lady Eagles program,” Larimer said. “Nobody was before them, and they’re set ting those expectations.” Larimer’s team hit the court last Wednesday for a scrimmage last week, outscoring Athens Academy 54-27. She said her team looks good. “They’re just really working well together,” she said. “Comparing the beginning of the summer to the end of the summer, it was a totally differ ent team. They just really meshed. I had some girls step up as leaders, and I have a great senior group. They’re really looking good. I see it as a team that by mid-season will be at the top of its performance.” Larimer says she has 17 girls in the program. She has 11 varsity players and 10 JV, with three players crossing over. Larimer says her biggest challenge is getting the team into the winning mentality. “I think we can have a lot of success, including this year,” she said. “They really showed me some thing (Thursday) night. They were really aggres sive and they really worked well together.” Larimer says the community support and involvement, not just in her program, but also in all the athletic programs, has been huge. “Not just with the team, but the entire school, getting it off the ground, we’ve had incredible sup port from the community,” she said. “We have one Booster Club, so everything that comes into the overall athletic program, we benefit from. So, all of the programs feed off of each other. Individually and as a team, (Thursday) was our first indication of the crowds and it was great.” The team’s first game was scheduled for Tuesday night, against North Oconee on the road. Game results were not available by press time. Prior to the game, Larimer said that in spite of not being able to find out much about their oppo nent, she felt the team would do fine. “One of the advantages of a scrimmage game is you get to see the little things you need to work on. We’ll really hit those hard. I think they’ll do well. I had a senior guard (Marley Pullian) sprain her ankle pretty badly, so I’ll have to have someone step up and fill her spot for a couple of games. But, I think we’ll do well overall for the whole season. I’ve got some young talent, and I’ve got three seniors who are my captains. They’re pretty good leaders. “She was having an incredible game,” Larimer said of Pullian. “She scored 17, and everything was clicking for her.” Along with keeping in mind that they’re setting their own traditions in this inaugural year of Lady Eagles basketball, Larimer says she wants her players to have fun. “I’m really flexible on the court,” she says. “You can do anything you want within a play. I hate robots that go from spot to spot. If they just get the mentality of playing smart basketball, and myself being flexible, that really gives them the opportunity to do a lot of different things on the court to show really what they can do.” And, at the beginning of this initial season, the Lady Eagles are ready to show what they can do on the court. First Boys' Basketball Season Now Under Way By Brandon Reed This week brings another series of firsts for the new East Jackson Comprehensive High School ath letic program. Among them is the beginning of the Eagles boys’ bas ketball season, which kicked off Tuesday night at North Oconee. Results were not available by press time. The team got its first taste of competitive action last Wednesday with a scrimmage that ended with a 50-50 tie. Head boys’ coach Brian Turner says right now, the Eagles are still looking to see what they have. “We’ve got a lot of things that we’ve got to work on,” Turner said. “Out of the 14 people we dressed (Wednesday) night, 10 of them had been in football. We did about as we expected. It was ugly, but we played hard. We did a lot of good things, and we did a lot of things we know we’ve got to correct before we get started on our season.” Turner pointed to a good sum mertime effort in getting the team ready to play. “We had a real good summer,” he said. “We started out a little slow, because it’s a totally differ ent system than they’re used to playing in. We’re up-tempo, and we’re going to full-court press the entire game, and the kids weren’t used to that. It took some adjust ing. Really, but by the end of the summer, we were pretty good at it. That’s what it’s going to take, some time for them to get re adjusted for the style of ball that we play. “We’re an up tempo team, and that’s the way our practices are,” Turner continued. “Even if it’s a water break, the kids run to the water fountain. That’s just the style that we’re going to play. We’re going to run for 32 min utes. I think that’s the biggest thing, also, buying into what you are trying to do. What we do can and will work; you just have to buy into it, and do it uncondi tionally. I think that is the biggest thing with starting a program is getting them to understand what this program is going to be about.” As to the North Oconee game, Turner said he thought things would still be somewhat ugly. “Just the style that we play, you’ve got to make sure you’re in the right position,” he said. “The one thing you can expect is we’re going to run. We’re going to get to everything. You’re going to see a lot of people play. We’ll sub in and out, and try to keep people as fresh as we can while we try to wear down the other team. We’ve got good size, we’ve got good speed in our guards, the size that we have is quick. They move their feet well. But, I really don’t know what to expect overall.” Turner says he expects his team to be excited for the first game, just like the community has been pumped up for all the East Jackson events. “Our community has been just awesome,” he said. “The support they show for football, cross country, you name it, the support we’ve received is unbelievable. That gets the kids pumped up. Even for a scrimmage game. We created a student section, they’ve got their own little banner, and we call them the screaming Eagles. They were up (Wednesday) night for the game. There were maybe 50 or 60 of them. Hopefully, those numbers will grow as the season moves on.” And, Turner says, that excite ment carries over to the players on the court. “I think you’ll see the kids just excited to play, and the opportu nity to start brand new,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I took the job, to have the opportunity to start fresh and to build some thing brand new. When they walk on that court, they know some body’s going to be the first to score in school history, some body’s going to be the leading rebounder. I think the kids are going to be excited to start some thing new. “I’m excited. I think we’ve got a lot of potential to be competitive this year.” The Eagles’ second next game will be on Nov. 27 at Providence Christian at 7:30 p.m. PAVE THE WAY To the expansion of the Commerce Public Library. Purchase an engraved brick to honor a loved one forever. 706-335-5946 NEED PRINTING? CALL 706-367-5233