Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / March 31, 1994, edition 1 / Page 15
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The Winston Salem Soys Club team scored a major upset against Laurinburg Academy and will play in Florida this week. B3 Carolina Central and Hanes Hoisery won tournament championships over the weekend. St. Paul's president Thomas Law was recently inducted into, the conference's officials hall THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1994 * * " ? ' * " ; I Girl's AAU Team Preparing Female Players for Competition A "They have to realize there's a war going on," assistant coach says before Greensboro Jamboree April 9 By MICHAEL JOHNSON Chronicle Sports Writer Romelia Allen looks at the players on both basketball courts, carefully watching and studying their progress. Walking up and down the sideline, she yells at a player to keep up on defense. Suddenly, Sequoia Friday makes a steal and Vaces down the sideline, converting an errant pass into a fast-break basket. The opposing coach calls a timeout, much to the encouragement of Allen and her charges. "That's the way you do it, keep on pressuring the ball!" Allen says. ' offering more advice before sending the players out again. ? ' Such_is life foiLlhe Winston Lake, Amateur Athletic Union-girls. 18 _ _ under team, one of four girls teams under the direction of Allen. The teams, which have played in three scrimmages so far against girls and boys teams, will play in the Greensboro Jamboree April 9-10 before starting Eastern Region pool play later this month. Last year, two of the three teams went into the semifinals of pool play, which Allen called a "feather in the cap" of the fledgling program. , The second-year program has blossomed in the past year, as the number of participants double last year's group and another team was added. But as the coaches state, the city's only girls AAU program still has a ways to go. ~ " lhe program is still in its Embryonic stages in terms ot its~players, " said Thomas Allen, an assistant of the 15-under squad. "As far as competition goes, these girls have to learn to be more aggressive on the floor. When you come to play on the floor, they have to realize there's a war going on." The idea ofa girls AAU team was developed by Romelia AHen when her daughter was invited to play for an AAU team. That's when Allen, who scoffed at the idea of going to another city to watch her daughter play, inquired about the idea of forming her own league. ' "It took two years for us to get the proper information to get this togeth er," said Romelia Allen, who in addition to supervising the AAU teams is the head coach of the 18-under squad. "I was amazed that, to my knowledge, there has never been a girls AAU team in Winston-Salem." In a city that had no sports programs in middle schools until this year, girls athletics in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools have suffered the worst. Male athletes have access to other programs within -recreational cen ters and other avenues; no such outlet exists for girls/While'in some instances girls join male leagues until they reach a certain age, most female players leam the fundamentals in high school. "Most of these girls we get here are fundamentally deficient. We have to teach them things they should have known in middle schools,'' Thomas AHen said. "In AAU basketball, there are teams that have been playing together for years, and we have teams that are just being put together," 14-under coach Sandra Wilkins said. "You're talking about taking girls 15, 16 years old that have never played together, plus teach the basic skills they should have had before they got here." Three teams of 14-under, 15-under and 16-under squads were formed last year, with an 18-under team added this year. Next year* a 1 3-under team will start playr Because of the enormous growth of the program, Romelia Allen said the public and private schools have been more than supportive in its efforts to recommend players in the league. "The players need to find out what intensity level exists beyond the high school level in Winston-Salem, which is lacking compared to other places," she said. "The players need the e\tra time after basketball season and develop their skills under intense simulation." . Coaches and players on last year's teams said the biggest factor is the adjustment the players have to make to jake the sport competitively. All four teams hold scrimmages against boys teams to prepare them for the size and strength found at the state and national levels. Thomas Allen said the games will toughen the players when pool play starts. .? "Most players want to be girl-athletes and they be can't be both. They have tcTbe athletes first, then T>e girlsTTie said. "Sometimes in AAU competi tion, teams are going to play as many as five times a day and they'll attack you like a shark to raw meat. If they play soft in the first game, they'll- be shredded by the third and water in the fifth. In AAU ball, you can't have play-? ers who are going to fold." "I've grown tremendously in the past year with my game, because I'm more competitive than I used to be," said Dementrice Platter, a member of 18-under team who played on Glenn's varsity squad. "Last year, I used get ? my-turnaround jumper blocked-a-lovbuMcoach Allen) has^ told me to use pump fakes and spin another way. See GIRLS AAV B3 Seqocia Friday , center , is a member of the Winston Lake girls AAV , the first such female basketball organization in Winston-Salem. Reynolds Gridiron Star Ready for Adventures This Fall at Chapel Hill A Legins, Central Piedmont Player of the Year, overcomes personal odds to excel on field, in classroom By MICHAF.I. JOHNSON Chronicle Sports Writer He survived the tough lessons life had to offer him. Now Reynolds High School defensive back Jomo Legins is ready for what the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has. to offer him. And he is fully prepared. ? - ^ "I'm ready to go to school, but I'm really ready to play football for Car-, olina," said Legins, the Central Piedmont conference player of the year. "I'm kind of glad to get it (committing to Carolina) out of the way, because I think I made the right choice." For Legins, going to one of the top schools in the country is something that would seem like an unlikely dream. His family moved frequently, caus ing Legins to grow up in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Winston Salem. LegiflS Started in Cleveland Avenue HomoG, wh<r? his mother got him into football by putting him in the Tiny Indians program. After his par ents went their separate ways ? they were never married ? that's when moving began. Within the space of several years, Bennie Legins moved her three boys and a girl to Atwood Acres and on Village Trail off Bethabara Road. An incident involving his mother and their landlord forced them to tem porarily move to an apartment on 1 8th Street, a drug-infested area of town. The Legins moved from the area two days before Police Officer Eugene F. Piscitelli shot and killed Daron Lamont Bines during a scuffle last summer. Wfiile living in an environment that would swallow most teen-agers, Legins had the inaer strength to carry on despite the turmoil surrounding him. Jomo Legins is anxious to begin his playing days at UNC -Chapel Hill Xiving there every night, you saw drugs coming in every -night -and ? every time there was a holiday, the police would be over there," Legins said. "Every other mght you would here gun shots. But my mom told us the dif ference between right and wrong and she made sure we were clean and had nice clothes." One such release was football, a sport Legins did not have much inter est in initially Whilp playing fnr thp Tiny InHian.;, he sat the bench because the coaches believed he had problems seeing. But after being diagnosed with oblong pupils, Legins became a major contributor to the Pop Warner orginization's success, playing in the Sertoma Bowl for five years. After playing one year at East Forsyth, Legins transferred to Reynolds after the family moved out of the district. Legins said the moves were a con- * stant ? yet understood ? disruption in his live. "My mother moved a lot because she wanted to move into a house and to giv; us a better life, but 1 didn't like the moving because 1 didn't like the digging around and now you're in a different place," he said. The constant moving at one point prompted Legins to move in with Reynolds assistant coach Adrian Stowe for several months. When his moth er got better situated to their current place on Hinshaw Avenue. Legins returned to the family. Bennie Legins said her son wanted to get a taste of independence. ( "I let him know that I'm responsible for you, but in the meantime you must prepare yourself for the future," she said. "The only thing Jomo owes me is respect, so he is not obligated to me. I told him, 'You're old enough to See LEGINS BS . ENTERTAINMENT A fascinating selection of paintings, prints and draw ings by thq renowned Charles Alston is currently on display at the Delta Art Center. B11 BUSINESS Money Watch Theodore Daniels writes about Homeowner Insurance. B10 RELIGION The Rev. Canon Frederick B. Williams, the rector of the Episcopal Church of the Intercession, will speak at Winston-Salem State University. B8
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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