Mike Hall is the new basketball coach at Woodford County Middle School. He already knows the program well, having watched his middle child, Afton, play for the Tigers over the past few years.
Hall interviewed for the job last year and stayed interested. When the position opened up again, he took the chance to get back into school athletics.
“I was most excited about getting back into athletics at the school level,” Hall said. “That was really the thing that I was most excited about, and working with different student-athletes from different backgrounds.”
Hall has coached at the club level before, but he says school basketball brings a different set of challenges that he enjoys.
“The club level is more recruitment and more skill-based, and I like the unique challenges of school ball,” Hall said.
Hall has already watched his new team play in a few small tournaments. One of his first goals has been to get Woodford County playing at a faster pace.
“I’ve been really proud of them,” Hall said.
“We’re expecting a lot out of the girls. We’ve got them playing pretty fast basketball, which maybe traditionally would be said couldn’t happen, but they’re doing a really good job handling those challenges.”
Hall said he already knew many of the players before he took the job. This summer has also given him a chance to get to know the rest of the team.
He will have a lot of support as he starts this new role.
Scott Hundley and Anna Beth Bobbitt will join Hall on the WCMS coaching staff. He believes both will play a key role in building the Tigers’ program.
“I cannot say enough about my coaching staff,” Hall said. “I’m really humbled to have Scott Hundley and Anna Beth Bobbitt coaching at Woodford County Middle School. They both have phenomenal playing and coaching resumes and bring a lot of basketball knowledge and a high level of fundamental basketball experience to the team.”
For Hall, putting together the right coaching staff is an important step in building a program that can help Woodford County basketball at all levels, not just middle school.
“I believe in surrounding yourself with the best people possible, and the middle school girls’ basketball team and the community are blessed that they have the calling to coach at WCMS,” Hall said.
Coaching middle school athletes has its challenges, but Hall has a lot of experience working with girls this age. As a father of three daughters, he has spent most of his coaching career in girls’ basketball.
“I don’t think I’ve ever run into an athlete that wouldn’t respond to clear communication, and I think girls at this age are no different,” Hall said.
Hall is focused on what the Tigers can achieve this season, but he also sees the middle school program as a key part of growing girls’ basketball across Woodford County.
“I told the team it’s going to take consistency,” Hall said. “I think it’s going to take consistency over years for the girls’ side of this basketball program to grow and develop and to be what other counties have and what we’re looking for.”
Hall hopes to see that growth start in elementary school, continue through middle school, and carry on as players move up to Woodford County High School.
On the court, he wants his team to play aggressively, attack the basket, and look for chances to score in transition.
At the start of summer training, Hall said only two or three players were regularly willing to attack the basket. Now, that number is up to about six.
“We’ll have 20 by the end of the season,” Hall said. “We’re trying to get them to play fast, play in transition and then settle it down after that. They’ve got several plays and several things they know to do, but at some point it takes somebody willing to get to the basket.”
Hall thinks having several players who can attack will make the Yellow Jackets harder to defend and help prepare them for the next level.
“I love having a diverse group that can do that,” Hall said. “I think that’s just going to help out the high school as well.”