By Stephen Henderson

Coach Donny Rakes comes to the Lady Cougar varsity basketball team with much experience under his belt. He has coached for over 30 years with various age groups, the latest being Patrick County’s junior varsity Lady Cougar teams.

“I want to instill a culture of competing in every aspect of the game,” Rakes said. I want our team to be a sum of our parts, not individuals who comprise a team. I want to re-kindle a passion and love for the game that is apparent when people come to watch us,” he added.

Rakes’ coaching style is up-tempo and fast break. “I believe in pressure defense and playing an up-tempo, fast-breaking style. I feel like this group of kids are in a good position to excel in this style of play,” he said.

This season, the Lady Cougars will consist of 12 players: two freshmen, seven juniors and three seniors.

Some player background includes Autumn Hubbard, senior point guard, All-Piedmont District and Conference 32 last year; and Lindsey Marshall, guard, All-Piedmont District and Conference 32 player last year. Izzy Beasley and Hannah Roberson both have potential to be dynamic scorers. Team leader includes Alexus Cain, who is an extremely tough-nosed player. Freshmen Sierra Hubbard has tremendous potential to be a very good player at the high school level. Additionally, Rakes expects to see major contributions from the entire roster.

After the first week of practice, Rakes noticed good team speed and some excellent shooters. “We must work harder at defensive intensity and rebounding in order to compete with teams playing a very demanding schedule,” he observed.

The Lady Cougars have some tough goals, according to Rakes. “I want each and every girl on our squad to be a better basketball player and person come March than we are right now. If we come together as a team and not as individuals, work hard on getting more fundamentally sound, with the talent we have, we should be competitive in every game on our schedule,” he said. “I firmly believe that if you compete, you give yourself a chance every time out.”

The Lady Cougar schedule is a demanding one. “We are playing Hidden Valley, Floyd, and Franklin County all twice in addition to traditional Piedmont heavyweights Magna Vista, Martinsville and George Washington of Danville (all twice), plus the rest of the Piedmont,” Rakes said.

The Lady Cougars are also participating in an extremely competitive holiday tournament in Rockingham County, N.C. “This is quite a challenge,” Rakes added.

Pre-season activities include a three-game scrimmage jamboree at Glenn High School in Kernersville, N.C., in November. They will scrimmage Galax at PCHS November 20.

The first home game is November 29, at home against Hidden Valley.

“To get the opportunity to come back home and coach at the high school that I played at is a tremendous blessing,” Rakes said. “I want to thank our administration and athletic department leadership for the opportunity. The team and I would really appreciate as many fans as possible to come out and support us. I believe they will enjoy the experience,” he said.

Rakes is assisted by Hannah Tompkins and Terry Martin on varsity. JV coach is Ryan Pendleton, and middle school coach is Hannah Helbert.