Steve Cordle
ECB Publishing, Inc.
On Tuesday Dec. 1, the Jefferson-Somerset Tigers will host the Dixie County Bears in the varsity basketball season opener at 4 p.m. and on the sidelines will be a new addition to the coaching staff.
New to the courtside coaching staff this year, but not to Somerset, is Audrianna Noel, who attended Jefferson High School (pre-Somerset) before graduating from Florida High in 2016. Currently, she is finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga.
A multi-sport athlete in softball, basketball and volleyball, Noel was hired as head assistant girls basketball coach to Dean of Students Rodell Thomas who is the team’s head coach. When asked what made her decide to coach, Noel said, “I had so many years here of playing, I just wanted to give back to the community the skills that I developed from my past coaches and the [current] head coach Rodell Thomas.”
Noel said that originally she was offered the girls’ basketball head coach position, but since she has never coached, it was determined that a year learning from Coach Thomas would benefit her and prepare her for assuming the role of head coach. Noel looks forward to learning from Thomas, about the finer points of coaching, such as game strategy and clock management, building confidence in the players and managing practices.
Noel played softball in college on a scholarship and is interested in coaching that sport if it is revived at Jefferson-Somerset. The school did not have a girls softball team in the 2019-2020 school year, so there would be challenges starting a new team from scratch. However, Noel says she is willing to try.
Regardless of the sport, players and coaches need community support to encourage the overall success of the program. In a small town like Monticello, sports such as basketball and softball can have an appeal that extends beyond the coaches and players.
Admission prices are usually reasonable and anyone coming to a high school ball game experiences a community event, as each team can be a source of community pride. The games bring together parents, grandparents, teachers, administrators, fellow students and just everyday fans in a most good-natured atmosphere (well, at least most of the time it’s good-natured).
Noel has a great mentor in Coach Thomas, so with a new coach and great enthusiasm, the girls basketball program will undoubtedly have a successful future ahead.
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