Training, competition
Many players get start at Hoop 10 By LEE PASSMORE State championships that seem to be won annually by Texas Panhandle high schools aren’t just reflected in trophy cases in gym lobbies stretching from Canadian to Nazareth and points in between, even as some of them grow fuller by the year. For some of those state championship players, their success started in their developmental stages at a facility on Amarillo’s Hillside Road. That’s the home of Hoop 10, a training and competition program which has served the community for nearly two decades as a proving ground for young boys and girls who want to break into the game. Johnna Pointer is Hoop 10’s director, organizing leagues and tournaments for any youngster and their family from around the area who’s interested. Pointer supervises the facility for training and practices during the week and for games and tournaments on weekends away from the school seasons. “I truly started with just a vision of could we provide an opportunity for young players in the Panhandle to get in the gym and work on their game and develop into strong players,” Pointer said. “The game of basketball has given me so much, and it’s opened so many doors of opportunity. I looked at it as a way to give back to the game that I love so much.” Pointer led Shallowater to the 1988 Class 2A state semifinals in Austin, where the Lady Mustangs lost 53-52 to eventual state champion Godley in a game where Pointer scored 30 points. She would return to Austin to play at the University of Texas, where she competed for four seasons and averaged 12.8 points a game for the Longhorns as a senior. After successful head coaching stints at Frank Phillips College and Wayland Baptist University, Pointer got into individual instruction at Hoop 10, which includes a fulltime staff. It’s become a successful business and is housed in the Amarillo Netplex, which was built a few years ago. Program has adapted to needs Pointer said ambitions for the program have evolved since the beginning. “I would say that the goal is ever-changing,” Pointer said. “When I started 20 years ago, the goal was different than it is now. What I love about our program right now is that I feel like it encompasses every age, every ability level, and every kid who wants to be in the gym, we have some sort of opportunity for them.” Athletes in the program start as young as 3 years old in what’s known as the Wee League. The oldest ones are heading into their senior year of high school. Pointer said the facility has been a major factor in maintaining the program’s numbers. The program has been able to add more leagues in the fall and summer, and numbers have gone up. There were about 20 girls teams and 10 boys teams in leagues in 2020. “Having this facility has been a huge blessing, because it’s allowed us to offer more. Before this facility we were really limited on court size, space and availability. We knew there was a need, but we just couldn’t provide it at one time.” Players who start with the program at a young age can result 40
Basketball News
Above, girls on a Hoop 10 team smile with their trophy from a competitive tournament. Below, a group of younger Hoop 10 girls celebrate with championship rings. Hoop 10 offers training and competition for boys and girls.
in some cohesiveness both in and out of Hoop 10 by the time they get to high school. Maci Hartsell, a senior at Vega who was a first-team District 3-2A defensive selection last year, has been with Hoop 10 for five years and started coaching third and fourth graders last spring. “I started with Hoop 10 because there really wasn’t much else around,” said Hartsell, a 6-foot-1 post who says she’s gotten offers from six colleges. “I knew some other girls around the area I was friends with who kind of brought me here. Once I started playing with Hoop 10, they completely shaped me into the player I am (Continued on next page) 2021-2022 Panhandle-Plains Basketball
