Tuesday, Feb. 07, 2012

Triangle Tar Heels demonstrate winning moves on big stage

On the eve of a big appearance during halftime at the Duke vs. Connecticut women’s basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the four captains of the nationally ranked Triangle Tar Heels sixth-grade girls’ team were more than a little nervous.

After all, they were planning an intrasquad scrimmage at a sold-out event.

And they knew they would be wearing their Carolina blue Tar Heel uniforms in front of thousands of Duke and UConn fans.

During a break in a Jan. 29 practice in a Wake Forest gym, Kayla Surles, Keenan Surles, Alissa Smalls and Aniya Thigpen wanted to talk about basketball, teamwork and self-confidence.

The girls, who have been playing basketball half their lives, make up the core of a team that has been racking up wins during its two-year life span.

“Last year, our record was 37-4, and so far this season we’re 4-0,” said Kayla, 11, who, along with sister Keenan makes up two-thirds of a set of triplets. Their sister Emma doesn’t play basketball.

Ahmad Smalls started the Triangle Tar Heels program in August 2010 in Wake Forest to give local fourth- and fifth-graders an opportunity to compete on a high level. Most of his team had played together in an AAU program in Garner.

The Tar Heels won their way to a No. 22 spot in the national AAU rankings last season, and this year, the older girls formed a new sixth-grade team, in addition to the younger team, which still exists.

The sixth-graders won their most recent tournament, the NRV Elite New Year’s Super-Jam in Christiansburg, Va., last month.

“The girls practice and play hard. They give all they can, and they just get better and better,” Smalls said. “We’re not the biggest team, but we win because our kids play together as a team and love each other.”

Alissa, the coach’s daughter, acknowledges her team is smaller in stature than most others they face.

“But we’re faster,” she said.

“We can outrun them,” Kayla added.

What the girls may lack in size, they make up for in confidence.

It is written all over their faces and expressed through their feisty spirits.

Charlotte Purnell’s daughter Alcenia is on the fifth-grade team.

“Alcenia was always shy, but her coach has made her more assertive and confident,” Purnell said. “That confidence has spilled over into the classroom, and she is doing so well academically.”

For Jada Peebles and Kendal Moore, who play with Alcenia, a winning record is nice, but their real pleasure comes from beating boys.

“Boys think girls aren’t as good as guys, but when they think we can’t beat them and then we do, they get scared,” Jada said.

Kendal chimed in.

“Lots of people watch boys play, and they watch the NBA, but we’re just as good as the boys are,” she said.

For a few minutes on Jan. 30, all eyes were on Kendal, Jada and the other Triangle Tar Heels as they proved how good they are at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

More than anything, Smalls wanted the players to have the experience of a lifetime.

“Today these girls are 10 and 11, but someday they’ll be in high school and college, playing for state and national championships, and they may be on national TV,” he said. “I would like for them to be able to close their eyes and look back on when they were 10 years old and scrimmaging at a Duke game.”

Mental focus and physical conditioning helped them conquer their nerves and rise to the occasion.

“These girls are in great shape. They are dedicated and mentally and physically prepared,” Smalls said.

The girls say most of their friends think it is cool they play basketball.

Those same friends are into dance, gymnastics and cheerleading, sports the basketball players regard as “girly sports.”

This team would rather appear in Tar Heel uniforms in front of a sold-out arena full of rowdy Duke fans than be seen wearing a cheerleading outfit of any kind.

And they’d prefer being part of the action to standing on the sidelines any day.

Notebook

Special Olympics Torch Run set for Feb. 25: The Special Olympics of North Carolina Torch Run 5K, organized by the N.C. State University police, is planned for Saturday, Feb. 25, at Centennial Campus.

The race starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Kids’ Fun Run at 9:30.

The Torch Run will take place in conjunction with the N.C. State Torch Run Polar Plunge, which begins at 11 a.m. at Lake Raleigh.

The activities are part of a festival that runs from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Registration donations are $25 for the competitive and recreational 5K and $10 for the Kids’ Fun Run. To register, visit www.ncstate5k.com. For more information, contact Amy Orders at 919-515-5208.

Dream League gears up for baseball: The Dream League, a baseball program based in Wake Forest for kids 5-18 with special needs, is starting its fifth season.

Opening day is April 14, with games scheduled on Saturdays starting April 21 and running through May 19.

An informational meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. April 11 at the Wake Forest Town Hall.

Visit www.wakeforestdreamleague.com for information.