By: Sydney Sanders
With junior varsity boys 3-0, varsity boys 5-1, junior varsity girls 0-1, and varsity girls 4-6 records, the future of Warrior basketball is already looking bright.
In addition to great season starts, the changes in this year’s basketball program have been hard to miss. Faculty and club nights were two additions incorporated into this year’s schedule to bring crowds to the home games. Coaches Jones, Bradley, and Hershenhahn are to thank for these boosts in the program.
“It all started at the end of the summer leading up to my ninth grade year when Oak Grove had just hired the new head coach, Vandarel Jones,” senior Antonnio Benton said. “We had a talented class coming in, not only in basketball, but in all sports. Coach Jones quickly came in and told us what potential he saw in us and the future of Oak Grove basketball, and it was bright. Even though it didn’t turn around as quickly as we would have liked our first year, things began to change my sophomore year. We won 17 games and posted one of the best records in Oak Grove basketball history. The girls’ new head coach, Crisla Hershenhahn, and boys’ and girls’ assistant coach, Edmond Bradley, bring new dimensions to our team from their experience with basketball on the coast and on the college level. The efforts they have put into making us better have transformed us into one of the best teams in the area, if not the best,” Benton said.
Each month, Coach Jones and his team participate in a different community service project. “It’s really exciting to see the boys participate in their community,” Jones said. “We’ve recently completed a Habitat for Humanity project and rang the bell for the Salvation Army at Sunflower on Hardy Street. Our next act of service is a Christmas project at Turtle Creek Mall.” Jones and the 23 junior varsity and varsity teammates also attend a different church service each month. So far this year, they have attended West Pointe, Temple Baptist, and Mt. Olive and plan to visit First Baptist this month.
Not much can top these boys’ acts of service, but the girls teams are also doing their part to make a difference on and off the court. Every Wednesday, coaches Hershenhahn and Bradley travel with the girls teams to the elementary schools for their Hot Shot clinics, where they focus on the youth – the future of Oak Grove basketball. In addition to this, Hershenhahn and Bradley put together the Pine Belt Hoops League, where 8-13 year old girls and boys have the opportunity to practice and scrimmage on the high school courts with the coaches and varsity players.
“If you look at our 8th grade team and 9th grade junior varsity team, we have had more participation in recent history,” Bradley said. “By paying attention to these younger kids, we’re gradually building up this basketball league for the future of Oak Grove sports.”
In addition to Hershenhahn’s Lady Warriors Web site and newsletter, she and her 21 girls recently submitted ten shoeboxes at Macedonia Church in Petal to the Samaritan’s Purse for Operation Christmas Child.
“The reason I’m here is to build a program – plain and simple,” Hershenhahn said. “By giving the kids a good foundation to live and play by, our program is progressing. I believe in what we’re doing. Sometimes, I want it to happen overnight, but I know we’re taking the right steps in the right direction.”
The coaches and teammates are hoping their efforts will inspire more fans to come out and support them this season. They take on the Hattiesburg High School Tigers Tuesday, December 15th, with the junior varsity game beginning at
5:00 p.m.
