Lady Spartans finish successful month of June with awards at team camp at UNC - Girls Varsity Basketball - The Oconee Leader

The Athens Academy Lady Spartans are coming off a basketball season that saw them play for a region championship for the first time in program history and advance to the Sweet 16 of the Class A state tournament.

In June the Lady Spartans were in the Spartan Center early in the mornings to work out. They also attended a team camp at the University of Georgia and took the program to a camp in Chapel Hill to the University of North Carolina.

“In the month of June we do breakfast club. From 7:30 to 9, we do skills and drills, really working on our fundamentals. That is from fifth to 12th grade, so all of our girls,” said head coach Brian Olson. “From there we do a couple of team camps. We went to Georgia and were tested with what kind of team we were going to have this year. We played some solid teams. We played a lot of 5, 6 and 7A schools. It was good for us.

“We came back and did a little bit more breakfast club and then we took off and went up to UNC. We took three teams. Our middle school team went undefeated. Our varsity team went 6-1. Our JV was .500. It was nice to get up there and start to build the team and team chemistry. I couldn’t be more impressed or more proud of what we are doing right now as a program. It comes back to our seniors. Every year, the seniors before them sat the bar really high. The next group is really proud of what they have done and wants to improve on that. It has been a great summer for us.”

Last season the varsity program went 29-5 overall. Olson was curious how the team would do this summer.

“I was interested to see what their attitudes were going to be as far as their work ethic and if they took [last season] and used that as something to use to get better or if they used that as something as a goal was accomplished and now we can sit back. I was pleasantly surprised,” Olson said. “What they did was they came in and the leaders said, ‘Last year was a pivotal year for our program and we want to continue building.’ They are not happy with how last season ended. They are not content. They have their sights set on something much bigger. There was no complacency. We saw a level increase. I was impressed. They are taking the lead on that. We as coaches have to figure out what they want and how they want to do it. The only thing we ask is for attitude and teamwork and how they treat each other. At the end of the day we are trying to create better people as well as a great basketball program.”

At the camp at UNC, the varsity team won the best defensive team award and the middle school team won the shooting award.

Olson said at first it can be intimidating for the younger players in the program to be working with the older players.

While in North Carolina, the team visited an exotic animal farm, raced each other at a go-cart track and attended team dinners together while trying to build camaraderie among the players in the program from fifth grade to 12th grade.

“All of a sudden you see it isn’t just basketball. That is when they start having fun — when they realize they are a part of something. When they have not only the ability but are wanted and included, then they have a great time and realize this is something I want to do and not want to get behind. At the beginning it is intimidation and by the end, they are a part of this. That is the goal for us.

“Camaraderie plus common language plus it gives coaches a chance to be together and challenge each other, and figure out as a program from top to bottom. We want our girls to go anywhere in the program with our coaches and be told the exact same thing. what it does is it creates a program instead of a team. I want every coach involved with our girls to feel like they are just as valued as anyone in the program and that it’s a unified voice, and that we are working towards human development as well as basketball development.”

The Lady Spartans have some players who take part in travel basketball. He said in July they will have open gym for the players who want to come in and work.

“All of our assistant coaches are willing and able to do individual training,” Olson said. “We have added a nice piece to our staff this year to help with the upper school, Angie Johnson. She was on Coach Landers’ staff and the recruiting coordinator at Florida State for 19 years. We have some nice pieces in place that we will continue doing things, but it isn’t a set schedule. Once school starts, we our in the gym for individual work and preseason stuff. We have a week or two off and then will be right back at it.”