Head coach Dani Wright has started to lay the groundwork for Gilmer High Lady Cats basketball.
Wright was named Gilmer’s head coach in the spring before finishing up the school year at Archer. She was in Ellijay during June as she got more acquainted with players and focused on honing fundamentals and the “little things” she hopes will make the difference when the Cats take the court for real.
“We focused a lot on the little details and what we expect of them. We wanted to create a good bond, and have these girls playing for each other and playing for us was really big. The girls did so good and got better every day,” Wright said.
“We did speed, agility and quickness in teaching these girls how to run. Not saying they didn’t know how, but using the proper technique to get faster. We did weight training to build our core. Even on the basketball court, we did a lot of little things like (working on) the proper way to rebound and shoot and play defense. You have to do the little things before you can do the big things.”
Twenty players were in attendance most days, which were split between weight training and practice. Wright made a slight adjustment to the schedule since it is her first year with the program.
“I think I went longer this summer than I ever have just because I knew the girls would be learning new things from me and my expectations,” she said. “That was really the only difference.”
When they were not training locally, the Cats hit the road for exhibitions. They made trips to East Forsyth, Chestatee, North Murray and Fannin. GHS hosted some teams as well and played 12 games during June.
“We would play a bunch of teams each day. It wasn’t just one, but like four or five games,” Wright said. “These girls really do have a great work ethic, and their willingness to be coachable was amazing. The love they have for each other is great, which shows they’ll do a lot for each other. That was really refreshing. It was a lot of team ball and not individual ball.
“There was a dramatic improvement from day one to the end of the week. Every day they got better, and it was fun to see they caught on so quickly.”
Gilmer hosted a youth camp during June, and around 80 girls in second through eighth grade attended. Wright called the camp “awesome” and added, “It was a great group of girls, and I’m really excited about our future, too. It’s exciting to see what we have at the middle school.”
Wright had praise for multiple players throughout all grades for their effort and performance over the summer.
“I saw really good leadership from my seniors Maddie Wright, Anna Waddell and Charley Poteet,” she said. “Not only that, but it was the energy they gave and led by example. Grace Bramlett, Lucy Ray, Madison Bradshaw, Marley Boatwright and Aliza Chastain all gave us a spark.
“I was very satisfied, and I can’t preach enough about the love they have for each other. On top of everything else, it made you feel good every day. Not only were we accomplishing something, but it was with a great group of kids.”
The Lady Cats will have the last few weeks of summer off, and preseason training will start in the fall when classes resume. While shooting was emphasized in June, defense will soon take center stage.
“One thing I always harp on is defense,” Wright said. “We want to keep teams under 40 so we will be preaching defense more when school gets started than we did during summer. I wanted them to get a lot of shooting technique stuff down over the summer so they can work on their own. When school starts, It’s going to be a ton of defense.”