Jessie Daguilh, an eighth-grader at Lanier Middle School inFairfax, has options when it comes to where she will play highschool basketball. A 6-foot-1 forward - especially one who is only14 years old - is a valuable commodity for any girls' team. Privateschools such as Bullis, Middleburg Academy, O'Connell and Paul VICatholic have taken notice.
For many talented basketball players - girls and boys - ascholarship offer from a prestigious private school in the regionhas long been an opportunity too good to pass up. But Daguilh -whose older sister Joelle chose to play for private school BishopIreton instead of her local public school Fairfax - may buck thetrend.
Jessie has developed a strong loyalty to Fairfax thanks in partto her participation in an eight-week league for middle schoolers inwhich they play for their public school's varsity coaches. Therising freshman league was created four years ago by Fairfax CoachMarcus Konde not only to get middle schoolers acclimated to highschool basketball but also to capture the interest of talentedplayers and deter them from being lured away by private schools. Asimilar league exists for the county's middle school boys.
'It's fun,' Daguilh said. 'It's just kind of like what it's goingto be next year. It gives me that experience in high school and thatI'm going to play with my friends.'
Fairfax County, some coaches feel, is at a disadvantage when itcomes to developing young basketball talent. No girls' basketballteam from the Northern Region has won a Virginia state title since1999 because of stricter out-of-season practice rules and the lureof private schools. And unlike some of the region's public schoolsystems, Fairfax County doesn't offer middle school sports; that'sleft to the local neighborhood youth associations. As a result,coaches say, future high school teammates are deprived of a chanceto play together.
Four years ago, one of Konde's first tasks as Fairfax's new coachwas to visit a talented eighth-grader at Lanier named MeredithMesaris. Upon meeting her, however, Konde learned that Mesaris haddecided to attend O'Connell, an Arlington private school that playsin the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
That year, a tough 1-22 season, Fairfax was already withoutanother potential player. Lauren Burford, a highly recruited guardwho eventually committed to Villanova, was in her second year at St.John's, a District private school also in the WCAC. Burfordeventually returned to Fairfax for her final two high school seasonsand Mesaris (who would later commit to American) did the same forher senior year. But it would have been a different story, Kondesaid, if they had been exposed to the rising freshman league.
'If I would have coached Meredith, she would have been hereearlier,' he said. 'If I had gotten to Lauren, she would have beenhere earlier.'
In the four years since the start of the rising freshman league,the Rebels have gradually improved from that one-win varsity seasonin 2007-08 to 16-9 this winter, a record that had them in contentionfor a AAA Liberty District title. It's a direct result of the risingfreshman league, Konde said. And the last eighth grader Fairfax lostto a private school was Mesaris.
Twelve teams signed up for the league's first year. This spring,14 teams from 11 schools played every Thursday night. Chantilly,Fairfax and Oakton had so much interest they fielded two teams each.Most of the teams are coached, at least part of the time, by thevarsity high school coach. Because the league's players are inmiddle school, out-of-season practice rules don't restrict highschool coaches from training them.
On the league's opening day in April, Oakton Coach Fred Priester,who has spent nearly 30 years coaching high school girls' basketballin Northern Virginia, sat on the floor outside Fairfax's gym andchecked off the names of his players in attendance.
Some coaches see the league as less of a recruiting tool and moreof a way to get to know future players and get them playing togetheras early as possible. Priester believes that taking the time to getto know the incoming freshmen in an carefree environment paysdividends. 'It's one of the best things we've done as coaches here,'he said.
League games are just like any high school basketball game butwith less frills. The bleachers are pulled back in Fairfax's amplegym to accommodate three games simultaneously. Some team benches arejust a collection of extra classroom chairs. The game clock sits ona classroom desk. Games are divided into two 13-minute halves. Theplay can, at times, be sloppy. Scores are kept, but records are not.No champions are crowned. A high-scoring game is when a team scoresmore than 50 points.
Families, with flashing cameras in hand, sit in folding lawnchairs or on the floor just beyond the out-of-bounds lines. Parentspitch in to cover the $550 fee per team for referees.
Kylie Murphree began playing in the league in the seventh grade.The point guard received serious attention from Paul VI Catholic - aWCAC school located fewer than three miles away from Fairfax, herneighborhood public school - but the league gave her a taste of whatit would be like playing for the Rebels and for Konde. She stuckwith Fairfax and was the Rebels' third-leading scorer this pastwinter as a freshman, averaging eight points per game.
'At first, I was little nervous and the girls were a littlefaster, older and stronger,' she said. 'But it was fun getting toknow them and it was just really fun.'
Added her father, Jay: 'Once the high school jersey comes on,they're pretty much hooked.'
