Heritage sets schedules for basketball
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/rhtn/Sports/3901/
Newly hired Heritage High basketball coaches Kevin Ramey (girls ) and Tom Olsen (boys ) have loaded up on home games for their inaugural seasons at Rogers ’ second high school.
Both coaches released their 2008-09 schedules recently and there are plenty of opportunities for fans to see both teams play.
Including a benefit scrimmage against Gravette to open the year, the War Eagles will play 14 home games and the Lady War Eagles will play 11.
Both teams play their first regular-season games on the road Nov. 25 at Miami, Okla., before home openers against Alma on Dec. 2.
“ It’s really important to get in our gym and let our kids play in our gym, ” Ramey said. “ That’s what we tried to get done, to establish a fan base and let the community members come see us and see our kids and identify with who they are. ”
Ramey’s team will play in two tournaments the month of December in Missouri and Oklahoma. The Lady War Eagles will also play Joplin, Mo., Alma and Van Buren. The team will also play a Saturday night home game against Ozark, Mo., on Jan. 24 during the middle of 7 A-West Conference play.
Ramey has also hired his assistant coach. Joveta Thrasher has coached the freshman girls ’ team at George Junior High in Springdale since it opened in 2004. Before that she held the same job at Harrison and was an also an assistant to Sherry White at the high school level for teams that won big.
“ She was the first person to contact me after I got the job, ” Ramey said. “ And even before then I knew she was one that I wanted if she wanted to be here. She’s good to kids, very knowledgeable and wants to be in the gym. That was important to me. ” War Eagles
Heritage is hosting the Arvest Rogers Classic the weekend of Dec. 11-13. The tournament was formerly called the Arvest Mountaineer Classic and held at RHS. Both teams are in this year’s event but the full tournament field has not been set.
“ The schedule worked out good, ” Olsen said. “ We tried to put one together that would help us get ready for the conference season. ”
After the Arvest Classic, the War Eagles play just three more games before beginning conference play Jan. 9 at Springdale. Their final tuneup is a home game against Shiloh Christian.
“ A lot of our Christmas time is going to be practice time, ” Olsen said. “ That’s why we aren’t playing in a Christmas tournament. Our schedule is real conducive to practice time. It was important that our kids be around the gym and not just play, play, play and never get any practice.
“ I felt like getting ourselves ready to play in conference is what it’s all about in high school. ”
The War Eagles will play conference games against Rogers on Jan. 30 (home ) and Feb. 27 (away ).
Olsen’s assistant coach has also been hired from the Northwest Arkansas Junior High Conference. Jon Cook spent the past two seasons as the freshman boys ’ coach at Ramay Junior High in Fayetteville.
In his first year the Indians won the junior high regional championship. He previously coached at Pine Bluff, working his way up through the ranks from the junior high level to an assistant coach on the school’s state title team of 2003.
“ He’s a real straight-shooting guy and a hard worker and that’s what I was drawn to, ” Olsen said. “ He’s going to do an extraordinary job and that’s what we need as far as our program goes. ”