Improvement was the name of the season’s game for the 8u and 12u boys basketball teams that played in championship games at Oglethorpe County Rec Department on Jan. 18.
Trae Lovin, coach of the 8u team, said all the players improved throughout the season.
“Whether it was shooting, whether it was dribbling, everyone learned basketball, and everyone got better on our team, all seven players,” Lovin said. “It was a full team effort.”
Lovin led his squad to a 9-0 regular-season record and top seed in the championship tournament, defeating McKyle Malloy’s team 22-17 in a defensive and “tight” game.
“It just goes to show as the kids get better in the year, as the year goes on, almost everyone is getting better,” Lovin said. “But defense, we pretty much built our team around defense.”
The 8u team came out strong, scoring several layups in the first quarter, holding Malloy’s team to six points in the first half.
Lovin attributed the win to a “team effort,” giving credit to coaches Dwight Howard Sr. and Shyanne Allgood. In addition to coaching basketball, Howard coaches youth track and field and Allgood coaches middle school football.
“And I just don’t want to be the only one that, my name on this team, because it was a complete team effort,” Lovin said. “Those two, other two guys, had a huge part in it, too.”
In the 12u game, coach Bodie Parks said his team’s season “got off to a rough start,” but “came together at the end” to win the championship game 21-18 over coach Wesley Lowery’s team.
“Both teams started off really bad,” Parks said. “Not a lot of points being scored, a lot of fouls. It looked like it was just going to be whichever team could get their game together the fastest and who wanted it the most.”
Lowery’s team had two points and 12 team fouls in the first half, but steadily gained momentum, scoring several layups in the second half.
Despite the win, Parks said it “depends on the day” in terms of improvement methods.
“Obviously, shooting more shots, making more shots, playing defense a little better, but you can work on it and you can try to improve,” he said. “But there’s always room for improvement.”
Parks reflected on the season that began with “a couple of kids that had never played basketball.”
“Every kid grew so much, and it was good to watch the (progression) of all the kids,” he said. “They went from playing as individual players to playing as a team. And they just learned how to work together.”