Cliff Orman began his first year as head coach of the OHS girls basketball team this year, and has shown great strides in developing the already successful program.

Orman has been coaching high school basketball for the past 11 years, including stints at Pine Grove, Myrtle and Ripley.

Orman’s changes to the basketball team so far have been minor, including encouraging his players to achieve greatness both on and off the court.

“I have tried to encourage our players each day to have a great attitude, to work hard, and be the best student-athlete possible each day,” Orman said. “We want the culture of the Lady Chargers program to be something our school and community are proud of, and excited to see and be around and cheer for.”

At the end of last week, the basketball team’s record was 8-2, a record Orman is very proud of.  (On a side note, the man who Orman replaced at the helm of the Lady Chargers, Shayne Linzy, got the best of the Lady Chargers in his Lafayette High squad’s 55-40 crosstown rivalry win on Friday night.)

“I am very proud of the start we have had this season,” Orman said. “This team has a great senior class that wants to be good on the floor and are also great people off of the court.”

Orman’s goal for the remainder of the season is to keep improving, and he is confident that if that happens, the team will perform very well.

“We want to get better each day we are on the court, whether at practice or a game, so we are playing our best ball in late February and hopefully into March,” Orman said. “I believe we can be very good if we continue to work hard and stay away from injuries.”

Junior girls basketball player Maggee Hobson feels that the team is improving greatly with the help of Orman.

“We have absolutely gotten better with Coach Orman,” Hobson said. “He came in, saw what we needed to do, saw what our weaknesses were, and has pushed that over and over again.”

Hobson also believes that the team will do well this season.

“I feel that we can go far with Orman’s coaching,” Hobson said. “If we didn’t have his coaching, it would be very hard to accomplish what I think we can.”

Hobson feels that the biggest competition this year will be playing against West Point for the division championship.

“Last year we beat West Point for the district championship and this year they are going to be tough to beat,” Hobson said. “But we will see.”