This summer marked a pivotal shift for Charleston High School Athletics, as we expanded our focus beyond tradition to create meaningful opportunities for every student-athlete.
By broadening our summer programming, we opened new doors for growth, competition, and development across all sports — setting the stage for a stronger, more unified athletic program.
For many years, our summer athletic schedule has naturally placed football workouts at the top of the priority list. That approach has played an important role in the success of our football program, and our football team continued its normal summer workout schedule this year.
However, we wanted to take a broader approach by placing greater emphasis on the development of all of our athletic programs. Our goal was to create more opportunities for student-athletes to improve, compete, and grow throughout the summer. We believe that when every program is strengthened, Charleston Athletics as a whole becomes stronger.
I am extremely proud of our coaching staff for embracing this vision. They worked together, communicated well, and made this first year of our expanded summer athletic program a tremendous success.
Our high school boys and girls basketball teams, along with our middle school boys and girls teams, held regular workouts throughout the month of June, primarily during the morning hours.
LaDon Taylor (Photo by Kelly Paris)
Our middle school basketball coaches also did an outstanding job organizing home games and scrimmages with schools such as Water Valley, Winona, Coahoma County, and M.S. Palmer. They also traveled to Coahoma County, Water Valley, and Olive Branch to compete in summer league games, giving our younger athletes valuable experience against quality competition.
Our high school girls basketball team competed in summer leagues at Water Valley and Grenada, while both our high school boys and girls teams hosted Thursday night summer league games here in Charleston. We were fortunate to welcome several quality programs, including North Panola, North Delta, Winona, Lee Academy, Kirk Academy, Ruleville, West Tallahatchie, Leflore County and West Memphis Christian. The competition throughout the month was outstanding and helped prepare our teams for the upcoming season.
Our cheerleading program remained very active throughout June. Both the high school and middle school squads practiced consistently and attended their respective cheer camps. In addition, they worked together to host a Mini Cheer Camp for our younger students. We are excited about giving those young cheerleaders opportunities to perform during football and basketball games this school year.
Our softball program spent the summer focusing on fundamentals and skill development, while our baseball team also dedicated time to improving the fundamentals that are essential for long-term success. In addition, our softball coaches are planning to start a softball academy that will target 4th through 6th grade girls. The goal is to introduce the game of softball to them at an early age so they can develop skills and familiarity with the sport well before reaching high school, giving them a stronger foundation when they begin competing at the next level.
As we move into the month of July, our football team will continue its workouts as they prepare for the upcoming season in August. July will also mark the beginning of preparation for our volleyball team as they get ready for their season. These two programs will be our primary focus as we transition into the fall sports season. In addition, our softball coaches are looking to begin working with some of our younger athletes during the fall, with the goal of building a strong foundation for the future of our program.
One of the unique challenges of being a small school is that many of our student-athletes participate in multiple sports. It is common for an athlete to attend two or even three different practices in the same day. Despite those challenges, our coaches worked together exceptionally well by coordinating practice times and game schedules so our multi-sport athletes could continue developing without feeling forced to choose one sport over another.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication of our coaches, the commitment of our student-athletes, and the support of our parents and community. Their willingness to work together allowed us to provide a positive and productive summer experience for our young people.
As athletic director, I believe this summer was about much more than practices and games. It was about building a culture where every sport is valued, every coach works together, and every student-athlete has the opportunity to succeed. We are excited about the future of Charleston Athletics and look forward to carrying this momentum into the upcoming school year.
