Lady Jackets seek to reload for 2018-19 season

The Rockmart Lady Jackets basketball team is hard at work preparing for the quickly-approaching season.

Head Coach Tim Puckett said the team had a successful summer by participating in the Seven Hills League hosted at Rome High School. The Jackets faced six teams both in and out of the 7-AA region.

“We played against bigger schools such as Rome and Villa Rica,” Puckett said.

“We needed to play bigger schools and better competition in order to improve upon last season. The Rome league definitely offered that,” Puckett added.

The girls have been conditioning after school each day, including running on the outside track and lifting weights.

Individually, they are trying to complete at least 100 practice shots each day.

Puckett said the girls are self-driven and want to compete. After ending the 2018 season as second in the region with a 19-9 record, Puckett said the girls were left “hungry” for a region title. They did make a first round playoff appearance in the 201718 season as well, falling to a strong Rabun County program 73-46.

“I feel like we have a good group of girls that have been in the program for a while, therefore we will be able to start quickly with building off of last season’s success,” Puckett said.

Puckett said the team is “reloading” after losing two 2018 graduates, Kelsey Motes and Madison Davis.

Puckett’s goal for the upcoming season is to place first in the region and advance deep into the state playoffs. “The girls definitely deserve it and I believe we have the talent to do it this year,” Puckett said.

Tryouts will begin during the week of Oct. 22.