CHHS practice gets intense as season draws to close
Published 7:48 pm Monday, January 28, 2013
Fresh off clinching the area title, the Charles Henderson Trojans went back to work on Monday afternoon in a high energy, low rest practice.
Charles Henderson travels to rival Enterprise on Tuesday, and head coach Carl Hollis wants to keep the momentum rolling late in the season.
Hollis said the key thought of the spirited practice was to get his team to develop an “intense mindset” and control the tempo of the game for entire night.
“We haven’t put together a complete game all year,” said Hollis. “We have an intense mindset. When we get tired, we start to make mistakes and this time of year too many mistakes will have you at home.”
Enterprise has had an up and down season, but Hollis expects the Wildcats to be ready to play on Tuesday evening.
“Enterprise will bring it for 32 minutes,” Hollis said. “They will press , run and defend you all night. We have to be ready for a battle down there. It will be intense and high energy from tip to horn.”
The Trojans claimed the area title by knocking off Bullock County, 65-48 Friday night. The area championship was the second consecutive for the Trojans and the ninth area title in the Hollis era.
Though the team is proud to capture the title, Hollis said that now is not the time to rest on their laurels, and is dead set on getting better before the playoff run.
During the course of the up tempo practice, the team worked on the basics of the game; fundamental defense, shooting and free throws. Hollis believes that being sound in those three phases will yield good results for the Trojans.
“Little things are important,” Hollis said. “We have to remember the things that got us to where we are, things like defense, following shots, and boxing out. That’s all effort.”
By claiming the area title, Charles Henderson will host the area tournament and get the top seed. The Trojans have had good showings in front of the friendly, hometown crowd inside Betty Wagoner Hall this season, but Hollis said that it is a huge factor.
“We are happy to get to play at home,” Hollis said. “But we will play it anywhere. We have the home-court advantage, but it all comes down to us playing hard and smart.”
The Trojans travel to Enterprise Tuesday afternoon for a non-area game. Tip off is set for 4:30 p.m.