Gatewood girls’ basketball has been doing a lot of team bonding this summer under new coach Ferdinand Farley.
Farley, who coached the Lady Gators as an assistant the past few years, took over from Jordan Walters. Farley and his players have spent the past few months building a stronger relationship with each other.
“So far, so good. We’re just trying to get the girls excited about this upcoming season and create a new standard of how we want to do things,” Farley said. “We’re trying to be on the same page regarding buying in.”
Last month, Gatewood’s girls attended a basketball camp at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. This allowed the Lady Gators to develop a stronger bond on the court and play against some tough competition.
Farley thought his team showed up and played hard at the camp, helping him learn more about them as individual players.
“The girls showed me that they really, really can do it, so overall, I am pleased with their effort,” he said. “I’m just trying to get them in the gym and continue building our team chemistry. It’s been going really well.”
The new Gatewood coach believes his girls have a passion for basketball. He wants them to “love what they do.”For Farley, the summer basketball season is all about seeing his players grow, on and off the court.
“The biggest thing is trying to change the culture. It’s about building the young people back up and getting to love what they do,” he said. “Culture is always going to build chemistry. Once we build chemistry, it will create results, so we’ve got to try to get them to understand the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.”
Farley will have a young team this season, but he’s seen a few players step up and lead this summer. He mentioned Natalie Sills, Ellie McMillian, Lauren Paxson, and Lily Huskins, among others.
Farley finds it encouraging to see some of the younger girls step up to take on leadership roles. The more they learn this summer and during the upcoming season, the more excited he gets about the program’s future.
“We want to be at the top of our game and best at what we do. Overall, I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Farley said. “I’ve seen my upcoming junior class take great strides, and they’ve been stepping up big-time as leaders and trying to grow. Hopefully, we can keep it up and are heading in the right direction.”