It’s been 10 years since Beckley last played for a state championship. For a program that’s collected 16 banners that’s far from the expectation. Making matters worse is a three-year run that’s been amongst the worst in program history from a win total standpoint.
With a talented group of players back, the Flying Eagles are hoping to snap their losing skid.
It starts with all-state point guard Elijah Redfern and trickles down.
“You know, we feel like we got one of the top players in the state with Elijah Redfern,” Beckley head coach Ron Kidd said. “We’re expecting big things from him this year with it being his senior year so he has to be a great leader for us. We just want that from him that and we want him to out a winner. We just want him and our team to go out as winners. And then we have Coby Dillon back and we just want him doing the same thing like he did last year just being a great shooter for us. He’s a a great scorer for us and he’s gonna have to be hard-nosed on the defensive end for us. Zyon Hawthorne has to do same thing on the defensive mean. We’ll have to score some baskets. And Jaylon Walton is gonna have to be force for us on the inside.”
For Kidd the strength of this group is well-defined and he plans to utilize it.
“I think we can be a good shooting team,” Kidd said. “And the more the more we work each and every game, I think we’re gonna get better on a defensive end. But I think we’re gonna be a good shooting team to start. I think we’re gonna be able to score what we want with this team and I point out we want to play fast like we have been playing in the past we want to really push the ball.”
That also plays into the improvements Kidd wants to see. He’s guided two teams to state titles and knows what it takes to reach that point.
“I want to see us playing together as a team a whole lot better by March,” Kidd said. “I want us talking to each other. We’re not ether yet but I think we can be. I think we’d be hard to get at that point if our kids do that.”
Despite their absence from Charleston, the goal hasn’t changed for the Flying Eagles. They want to win a state championship. A pair of losses in the sectional opener the last two years have added to that hunger, putting the Flying Eagles in a position they’re not used to.
“You know, expectations will never change,” Kidd said. “The goal is always gonna be to cut down the nets on that final Saturday in March. So, no, that’ll never change. We just got to get better at what we do and what we say and what we preach to our kids. Our expectations never change. But the section and the regional games have been a whole lot tougher and our kids need to realize that.”
