Sandhills Lady Spartans are entering their fifth year as an AAU girls basketball program. But this year is different from the rest. While the focus still remains the same; developing successful girls, athletes, and teammates, the expansion of team offerings within the program is new.
So who are The Sandhills Lady Spartans? Lady Spartans was founded in 2017 by Retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Charlie McHarney. Raising three young girls, Charlie identified the need to create an opportunity for the girls of Moore County.
By establishing the Lady Spartans, he was able to provide one of the only AAU basketball teams for female athletes in Moore County to not only cultivate an interest and develop skills in basketball but also use the sport as a vehicle to build strong, powerful, young ladies.
What do The Sandhills Lady Spartans have to offer? Through a positive coaching approach, Lady Spartans provide a healthy developmental atmosphere within a competitive environment during young athletes’ formative years.
Athletes learn crucial life skills beyond playing basketball that will prepare them for various situations as they get older. Skills such as perseverance, grace, and the ability to handle criticisms from friends and outsiders while at the same time applying feedback and ultimately improving from it.
The Sandhills Lady Spartans are moving into the fifth year of their program, expanding from just a single team in the middle school age group when the program began to this summer being able to offer teams and programs at three different ages groups — elementary school, middle school and high school.
Within each age group, there are differing levels available to meet each player at their current skill level. At the elementary school level, the Spartans program offers both a developmental program and a travel team serving girls third through fifth grade. In addition, there are travel teams for both the middle school level (sixth – eighth grade) and high school level (ninth – tenth grade).
All programs and teams will follow a similar style schedule including once-a-week team practice on weekdays, and the ability to attend additional weekend practices. Those players participating in the travel teams will attend local, regional or national tournaments. Lastly, an exciting addition this season is the inter-program 3v3 league on Wednesday evenings open to all players in the Lady Spartans program.
Through their partnership with The O’Neal School, the Lady Spartans program has all the facilities to continue to grow and build into the future.
Interested in learning more? Come out to the Player and Parent Information Meeting on February 20 at 3 p.m. at The O’Neal School.
Tryouts will be held on Feb. 27.
Courtesy photo/Contributed.
