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Wesley Chapel passes the turkey, then the ball

Through pregame dinners, the Wildcats become closer teammates, translating to a perfect record in 5A-7.

By IZZY GOULD
Published January 29, 2006

WESLEY CHAPEL - Pizza deserves some credit for Wesley Chapel's success.

So does pasta, tacos and cold cuts.

Warren Jones had little coaching experience when he took over the Wildcats in 2004. He inherited a team with talent and tension. Tension had to go.

He needed Wesley Chapel to become a tight-knit group if it were to have a shot at reaching the playoffs.

Why not settle things at the dinner table? Think Thanksgiving.

The result was a 19-2 record. Wesley Chapel finished 8-0 in Class 5A, District 7 and holds the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.

"Basically, they weren't friends," Jones said. "It was a matter of getting the groups together and getting them to work out their differences."

First Jones had to earn the players' trust.

There was little meet-and-greet time when Jones became Wesley Chapel's fifth coach in six years before the 2004-05 season. He took over a perennial loser that never had a winning season and went 0-51 before winning its first game in its third year.

Jones was hired three days before preseason practice after Brad Jenkins resigned for personal reasons. Jenkins never coached a game.

Jones was a solid hire. He coached JV basketball at Rutherford High in Panama City. He played guard at Gulf Coast Community College.

It also didn't hurt that many of Wesley Chapel's players asked him to apply.

Did he know what he was getting himself into?

"I didn't really know what the head coach title meant," Jones said. "All the responsibility, mostly off the court. This year I was a little more prepared. I put a lot more time in it this year because I've seen the potential in these girls.

"I sacrificed my free time, but it's paid off."

In Jones' first season, he guided Wesley Chapel to its first winning campaign with a 16-10 record and its first playoff berth.

With greater goals in mind, Jones implemented a detailed plan for Year 2 by bridging the gap in the locker room. He began by assigning captains - seniors Shandra Brooks and Sami Polston and junior Sthefany Thomas.

Jones told them what he expected and what kind of season Wesley Chapel would have. That included a 20-win season and, at the least, advancement past the region quarterfinal of the Class 4A tournament.

"They made it a point early to make sure everyone was on the same page," Jones said. "Those three are my biggest personalities. To get those three working together I knew the team would follow."

That included team dinners before games.

Each player would take turns hosting a meal where tension was eased and everyone could get to know each other on a personal level.

"Once we started practicing hard together and having dinners before games we became very close," sophomore Ashley Carey said.

Players rarely skipped those meals.

"We don't really make it mandatory, but we stress we want to be together before every game," Brooks said. "You get to know everyone on a different level."

And Wesley Chapel took its game to another level setting the school record for wins. The Wildcats' two losses came to Atlanta Mays and rival Gulf.

"After we lost to Gulf we had to play the next day," Jones said. "I thought the team would fall apart after that loss. They got closer together realizing we wanted the game bad, but Gulf outplayed us.

"They realized there were a lot more games to play."

Contact Izzy Gould at 813 909-4612 or sportsjournalist@gmail.com

[Last modified January 29, 2006, 01:28:20]