DECATUR — With football and volleyball coming to an end, basketball season will soon be here and, for Jeff Melton, Lady Bulldogs basketball coach, that means building on the work which began last June during the off season.
Melton said he was pleased when so many of his younger athletes took the time out of their busy summer schedules to brush up on their basketball skills. But now it is time to get ready for the upcoming season, and Melton has a new weapon in his arsenal which he believes will take his team to a whole new level.
The school district hired a new seventh-grade science and math teacher who will double as the Lady Bulldogs' assistant coach this season. Ashley Riggles will take her place on the Lady Bulldog bench Nov. 11 for her very first coaching job. For Riggles, being on the other side of the ball is a whole new experience and one she is ready to take on.
"I'm a little nervous because this is my first season as a coach," said Riggles. "It is a little different being on the coaching side of it rather then being on the playing side of the game."
Riggles is no stranger to women's basketball. In fact, she has spent most of her life playing the game. She played on the Greenland Lady Pirates' team in high school and, after graduation, went on to play college ball at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia.
Riggles hopes that her vast knowledge of the game can help inspire players to reach for their goals as athletes and as adults.
"I want to be a positive role model to these girls," said Riggles. "Just because you play for a small school doesn't mean you can't go places and be successful."
Melton has already seen the changes in the girls' attitudes since Riggles came on board last June. Her experiences as a player have already yielded positive results for his players on the court.
"Coach Riggles has a great basketball mind," said Melton. "She's good at picking out small details that I don't have time to see at practice. As far as game adjustment, we are pretty much on the same wave length as far as the direction we want to take this team."
The team has taken on a different look this season. Melton has seen his players getting more involved with the game and taking extra time to work on bettering their skills as basketball players.
"We are going to continue to develop the program," Melton said. "From last year to this year we have already seen a tremendous amount of improvement by the girls, not only on the floor, but as far as their hopes and desires to become a part of this program."
Melton's program has two sides, the junior high (which practices from 7 to 9 a.m.), and the senior high (which practices in the afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.). It is not uncommon to see the junior high girls, especially the ninth-graders, sitting in the bleachers watching the senior team go through its drills. This shows Melton that his younger players want to learn as much about the game as possible and take that knowledge to make them better players.
"These girls are looking forward to being a part of this program," Melton said. "What we need to do every single year is to improve, to make it something that they want to be part of and something they can be proud of."
The Lady Bulldogs are returning two seniors this season, Cameron Shaffer and Meagan Smith. Both have played the game since junior high.
"Meagan has done a really good job for us as point guard, gaining a lot of experience last season," said Melton. "Cameron stepped in last year and became one of the top rebounders in the state and I expect nothing less than that from her this season. If we are to be successful this season, we will have to have tremendous play from both of them."
Melton is impressed with the amount of interest and commitment he has seen in his sophomore and freshmen players thus far. But he knows that all of his players need to improve their shooting abilities in order to win more games.
"I'm hoping that we can stretch the defense this year," Melton said. "In order for that to happen, the girls need to be able to knock down shots."
One of the most important aspects of any team is filling the bleachers during home games. The more fans in the stands, the harder the players will work to keep them in the game.
"We would like to have more fan support," Melton said. "Last year, during the beginning of the year, the support from immediate family was there but not so much from the community. By the end of the year, the bleachers were about halfway filled. I would like to see that continue. These girls put in a lot of work and they deserve to be supported by other people that don't see them everyday."
Melton believes that the more the community shows its support for these young athletes, the more they will strive to do their best and put more games in the win column this season. And Peterson Gym is a perfect place to show that support.
"This gym is one of those gyms that the more people you have in it the louder it gets," Melton said. "In a nutshell, if you can get this gym loud, it spells home court advantage for us. The louder this gym gets, the more it messes with our opponents' minds and that translates into more wins for both the boys and girls this year."
The Decatur Lady Bulldogs' junior and senior high teams start the season Nov. 11 when they take on the Northwest Arkansas Arts Academy at Peterson Gym in Decatur. Junior high games start at 4 p.m. with senior high starting around 6 p.m.
For a complete basketball schedule, go to decatursd.com/home/athletics and click on basketball schedule.
Sports on 11/09/2016