Patriots proving doubters wrong in first season on the court

Writer: Sylvie Sparks
Published: Updated:
ARHS girl's basketball

It’s true underdog story.

Aubrey Rogers High School opened this school year merging students from across Collier County so not a lot was expected from the Patriots’ first year athletic programs, but the girl’s basketball team has exceeded expectations.

“People don’t really expect a lot and then come in and we just do our thing,” ARHS sophomore guard Angelina Insana.

The Patriots are 10-3 on the season for head coach Serena Hampton who told me her team is hitting its stride.

“The biggest buy-in is everyone understanding what their role is and trusting me as well as me trusting them to do what they need to do,” Hampton said.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing, getting girls from four different schools to gel as one team was a challenge for Hampton.

“It’s been a challenge, especially in the beginning, because no one was, like they never played together as a team,” Hampton. “It was just building it up and understanding what their weakness are and what our strengths are.”

After a few weeks of hanging out in Hampton’s classroom the Pats clicked and it’s only up from here.

“A lot of us will be coming back so we’ll have nine returning players, which a lot of teams don’t have the luxury of,” ARHS junior forward Abigail Peterson.

Hampton is confident her young team has the chance to win state championships sooner than you might think.

Next up for the Patriots. They are hosting Naples at home Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

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