By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

The Spain Park Jaguars fell under the struggle bus last season, seeing their inexperienced and young squad hit in all facets of the game.

Despite that, the Jags still found some positives to take away from the year and look to build on a phenomenal summer with an experienced lineup as they make the transition back down to Class 6A for the 2024-25 campaign.

“People throw the word ‘culture’ around all the time,” Spain Park coach John Hadder said. “For us, what that means is trying to drive the behaviors that contribute to winning. Sometimes, that takes a little while to take hold. You don’t just come in on day one and not automatically have the habits instilled that you need to have that winning requires. From that standpoint, from where we were last year to where we are now, it is 100% better.”

Spain Park is now in its second year of rebuilding that culture under Hadder and has retained a lot of players who saw game action last season.

That all starts with starting point guard Ava Leonard, who is already making a big impact on the program despite only being in the eighth grade.

Hadder believes that, while there is still a lot of development that needs to happen, Leonard will be one of the most improved players for the Jags on the court.

“She really understands conceptually how to play the game,” Hadder said. “Long term, she’s got a really bright future, but she’s still young. She’s still young and she’s still kind of learning how to navigate things from a standpoint of being a leader on the floor… She’s somebody I’m expecting to take a big step up this year from what she did last year.”

If Leonard can be the player that Hadder knows she can be, she will pair greatly with the team’s other returning eighth grader in Nylah Calhoun, who was an exceptional performer last year on defense, and looks to improve more on that to put her talents at a high level.

Teagan Huey shows great toughness on both sides of the ball. The junior is expected to have a massive year in improvement, leading the team with her knowledge of the game and how to play in certain situations.

In addition to those three players, the big story of the year for the Jaguars is that they have seven seniors on the roster, captained by Tori Flournoy and Jordyn Corey.

The two main veterans of the program will do it all on the floor for Spain Park. Hadder greatly admires the leadership qualities that both girls bring to the squad, saying they have been phenomenal in communicating and understanding the expectations and standard that the program holds.

With all of the experience that the Jaguars hold in their lineup, there is optimism that they will be able to put up a lot of fight throughout the season in their move down to Class 6A.

Moving down a classification, however, does not always mean that things are going to get easier. Hadder knows that as well as anyone, especially with an area with the likes of Pelham, Chelsea and Helena on the horizon.

“I think the perception when you go from 7A to 6A is, ‘Well, that’s got to be helpful in some ways,’” Hadder said. “From a competitive standpoint for us, it’s not going to seem much different. You’re still going to have to show up and play quality teams and compete every single night.”

All signs point to a positive trend for this squad, though. For many teams, a good start is highly crucial to building confidence and a sound attitude.

Hadder saw this in Spain Park’s preseason play this year, seeing the development from year one to year two even in summer ball.

“Our summer was so much better than it was year one,” Hadder said. “What we’re trying to sell our kids on is, ‘If we can be really tough and we can be really gritty and we defend you hard every night, we’ll be able to hang in there with people who we feel like may be a little more talented than we are, and we’ll give ourselves chances every night.’”

As a result of that, the expectations are a lot higher for a squad which had a lot of things go wrong for them in the 2023-24 journey. The offense is set to be a lot more dynamic, while the Jags are working towards a tough and physical defensive mindset.

Hadder understands that not everything will be a breeze in the journey upwards. Now, his job is trying to help his players expect that going into the season.

“Sometimes growth is uncomfortable, and that’s okay,” Hadder said. “It’s not our job to try and make you feel good all the time. A lot of times, things that feel good don’t help you win. We’re trying to get them to be willing to have some tough times and be uncomfortable in order to develop that kind of mindset that we want, that gritty mindset that we want our team to have to give us a chance to win every night.”

Now, as Spain Park sets sail in its schedule, following that notion of embracing the journey and being confident is key to more success.

Hadder believes his team sees that, and that they see the potential they can build towards.

“It’s a continued emphasis on being demanding about what our culture is going to allow,” Hadder said. “I think our kids have kind of understood that and bought into that. What they’ve kind of understood is, it’s okay to make a mistake, but it’s not okay to not learn from that and not repeat that over and over.”