“Fellas. This is the day we’ve been waiting for all year. The first day of practice. The Tennessee Tech and Gordon Lee camps, over the summer, helped prepare us for this day. We will “Work hard, play hard and have fun.” We won’t talk about winning. We will “Live the moment and enjoy this journey” that we will take together. I want you to take a minute. Each of you. Think about the season ahead. Not about whether or not we will win the championship, but what “footprints” will you leave behind for the players that follow you in this program. Will you set a good example on and off the court? Will you do your best and give 100% every day? The younger guys will be watching your every move. What will you teach them? What will you leave behind for them? We will all leave “footprints” good or bad. Let’s give it our all every day and be proud of the footprints we leave behind for those that follow us. You all as players and me as a coach. We will have each other’s back. Our circle can’t be broken by anyone. What we do together is sacred. Our Sacred Hoops.”
That’s the brief speech I gave to my Red Bank basketball team on opening day of practice, 19 years ago. Dee Staton, “Little Dee,” took those words to heart. He would become my leader on the 2002 Red Bank Middle School championship team, defeating Ooltewah 51-27 in the Hamilton County Athletic Conference finals.
For the past several years, Dee Staton has been leaving his own “footprints.” He first coached boys AAU basketball and currently coaches and mentors his daughter, Mariya Staton. She is an 8th grader at Hunter Middle School.
Dee says, “Mariya started playing when she was 10 years old. She has been around basketball for a long time. I used to coach with Cory Wade and Mariya would go with us on out-of-town trips. Then, we went from coaching boys to coaching our daughters in AAU and rec league. She has been at Hunter since the sixth grade and has never played JV. Her sixth-grade year she started half of the season and has been starting ever since then. They have made it past everybody the last two years, except for Loftis.”
Mariya is young for an 8th grader. She started school early and could easily be in the 7th grade. Yet, she is mature for her age on and off the court. Her principal, Robert Alford, was also the principal at Red Bank Middle when Dee played in 2002. Mr. Alford states, “I’ve talked to Dee a couple of times at games. Mariya is a good one. She’s a vocal leader on the team. She’s also a good student and an excellent role model for her peers.”
Dee’s forte was defense and used to slap the floor Duke Blue Devils style! When Dee was in the seventh grade, he went with me, Emily and our son Justin, to Durham to watch a Duke basketball game. We got to sit, well, stand in the “Cameron Crazies” student section. Let’s just say from that point on, he was a madman on defense, by slapping the floor in his defensive stance. Jason Williams style!
Mariya has played AAU the last three years for Lady Hoop-Phi. Dee remembers, “The first year I coached her in rec league we were terrible. We got smacked around a lot. The second year, we started getting better. After that, AAU was a must.”
Mariya is leaving her own “footprints” at Hunter Middle School. She leads the team in assists and free throw percentage. Last week, Mariya helped lead the Hunter Middle girls to the league championship! She confidently says, “My goal is to get good enough that I never have to play JV in high school. My offense is good right now, but l know my defense has to get a lot better. Just like my dad’s.”
Better get to slapping that floor in your defensive stance! Dee Staton style!
The Hunter Middle School girls are the number 1 seed in this week’s Hamilton County tournament. They play this Wednesday at 5 P.M. at Hunter Middle School.
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