FORT PIERCE – Terry Fields conducted the waves of people posing for photos like a maestro.
After all, a team can win its first district championship only once.
So Fields, the coach of the Tradition Prep boys basketball team, made sure everyone who wanted to mug for a photo with his squad had the opportunity.
The top-seeded Pirates mauled second-seed and undermanned Avon Park High, 71-31, Saturday afternoon for the Class 3A-District 9 crown at the Havert L. Fenn Center.
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“It’s a family,” Fields said. “It’s not just one person. It’s not just the coaches. It’s a family. All these parents, these moms and dads sacrifice their time, get off from work and come to see their children play. But it wouldn’t be possible for us right now if it wasn’t for the parents, if it wasn’t for the school and the staff. Everybody has bought in, not just the basketball team. So I want all of them to be a part of this.
“Also for these young men, it’s the first time. When they have their kids and their grandchildren, they can say, ‘Hey, I was district champion.’ It’s important for them to have this memory.”
After a year as an independent and two years in the Sunshine Independent circuit, the Pirates landed in 3A-9 for the first time this season and took no prisoners. They won their three district contests by an average of 42 points and the district championship by nearly the same margin.
“It means a lot,” said junior Aydan Fields, son of Coach Terry Fields. “It helps us put our names out there. Tradition Prep is not big on hoops or any type of sports. This year we are proving something to everybody.”
It starts on defense
Growing up in Headland, Alabama, Coach Fields knew his time on the court would be predicated on how well he played defense.
“It was all about defense for me,” he said. “I feel like defense wins championships. Anybody can get a bucket any day, but it’s the griminess and grittiness of defending. That’s what I try to pride my guys on sitting down and guarding and defending. Doing the right things.
“This is what led us to a district championship and being 22-2 right now.”It has been drilled in Aydan Fields from the start.
“You can play defense on your own, but if you want steals and blocks, you have to play defense as a team and talk on defense,” Aydan Fields said. “If there’s no communication, the offense is going to score.”
The long 6-foot-7, 177-pound junior is everywhere when it comes to defense.
“I can’t really even call them out right now, but I would say Aydan Fields,” Coach Fields said when asked who is the best Pirates’ defender. “He can guard one through 5. That’s what he’s prided himself on is playing defense.”
Aydan Fields’ example has led to the others buying in.
“Guys have bought into that: taking charges, diving on the floor for loose balls, all the practices, me screaming and yelling at them,” Coach Fields said.
The majority of the Pirates’ practices are defensive oriented with man-on-man, four-on-0 drills and 4-on-3 scramble drills.
“Defensive slides, one-on-one defense, defense behind the back, defense full court. All that,” Aydan Fields said. “We practice defense at least an hour to an hour-and-a-half a day.”
During its current 11-game winning streak, Tradition Prep has permitted just more than 43 points per game and just more than 45 during the entire season.
“A lot of scramble drills, always closing out to the basketball, always closing out with our hands high, always seeing the guys on the sideline and baseline,” Coach Fields said. “We don’t want anybody to get middle. If they get middle, they have options. The baseline and sideline is a defender for us as well.”
After Headland High, Coach Fields went on to play at the College of Southern Idaho, University of Texas at San Antonio and then in Germany, India, China and Mexico. It was his defense that kept him in the game.
“I’ve played at all the levels these kids want to play in except the NBA,” Coach Fields said. “I went from being that kid ranked high coming out of high school and going to college realizing I’ve got to do something other than scoring buckets in order for me to play.
“I realized I had to sit down and play defense, take charges, battle for loose balls. It got me more minutes and more time as a player. That’s what I want these guys to understand. When you go to college, you’ve got to figure out a way for you to be able to play. You’re not going to be that guy to go to college and average 40 points. That’s not going to happen. You’ve got to be that guy you weren’t in high school. If you buy in right now, you could be that guy. I want them to understand that right now.”
Tradition Prep’s offense plays off the defense
Top-seeded Tradition Prep scored the first nine points of the game, 20 of the first 22 and led 27-7 after the first quarter. When senior Daniel Boule canned a 3-pointer with 6 minutes, 17 seconds left in regulation, it gave the Pirates a 64-29 lead and started a running clock because of the 35-point mercy rule.
Junior Kaiden Seebarath and sharp-shooting senior Nick Dunphy each scored 16 points to lead the way. Senior Ethan Chevres was right behind with 14 points. Aydan Fields also reached double figures in scoring with 11, as eight Pirates found the scoring column.
It wasn’t a picture-perfect performance, since the Pirates missed a couple of dunks, gave up offensive rebounds and at times didn’t look pretty on offense against 9-15 Avon Park, which dressed seven players and lost one due to an injury during the game.
But no one is going to remember that years from now, just that Tradition Prep won its first boys basketball district title.
“It says a lot about the program,” Coach Fields said. “The boys have bought in. It says we are here as a team. This group is very special. It took four years to get to where we are. That’s the good thing about this is coming out to do what we needed to do for the school and for the culture at Tradition Prep.
“It’s very, very important for the program. I’m building a program here. I want kids, even after I leave, to come here and want to play the game of basketball and play it the right way. It’s big for our school as well. We’re starting to put Tradition Prep on the map.”
The Pirates (22-2) are ranked fourth in 3A-Region 3 behind Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian Academy, the top team in the state in all classifications, Coconut Creek North Broward Prep and Boca Raton St. Andrew’s. All those teams are in the same district. Tradition Prep’s lone two losses are back-to-back to Davie Western and St. Lucie West Centennial by a combined nine points.
“If we play as a team, we can go to states,” Aydan Fields said. “Once we get to regionals it will prove something.”
Tradition Prep will get a home game in the regional quarterfinals on Feb. 14. But the game will not be on campus.
The district games were played at the Fenn Center since the Pirates’ home gym does not hold the required 500 spectators.
“Our school and staff did a really great job of setting this venue up,” Coach Fields said. “Our school is small. Our gym is supposed to have 500 seats. We only have 300. So we would have to host at someone else’s gym. Home court is an advantage, a plus.”
Coach Fields hopes the title resonates with not just the basketball team or the sports programs, but the entire student body.
“We’re going to get more and more kids to come to the school, not just for basketball, but for academics as well,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Tradition Prep boys basketball makes history with first district championship
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
