When the temperatures cool off outdoors, it’s a signal that some high school sports are heating up indoors on courts all across the Columbus Valley. Local girls basketball teams are loaded with talent this season and ready to hit the hardwood to showcase their abilities. The regular season opens in early November and ends in February, with region and state tournaments to follow. One team looking for big wins and hard-charging plays is Shaw High School’s Lady Raiders. In The Game High is taking an inside look at Coach Julee Fryer’s program, including her goals for an exciting season.
In The Game: When did you begin your coaching career?
Julee Fryer: I have only been a head coach for two years, but I have coached either in the school setting or recreational setting since I was 18, when I was told I would never play sports competitively again.
ITG: How long have you been coaching at Shaw High School?
JF: This is beginning my third year coaching at coaching.
ITG: What sports do you currently coach for the Raiders, and what classes do you teach?
JF: I coach girls’ basketball and teach special education.
ITG: Where did you coach prior to Shaw?
JF: Before coming to Shaw, I was assistant girls’ basketball coach at Columbus High under Candace Turner; before that, I was in Dekalb County at Chamblee High School and Cedar Grove Middle School.
ITG: Who are the coaches that make up your coaching staff?
JF: Coach Bruce Figgins and Coach James Caesar…these two men are my rocks and constant supporters both on and off the court.
ITG: How many returning starters do you have on the varsity team?
JF: I have three returning starters.
ITG: Do you have some athletes to watch this season?
JF: Every girl in a Shaw uniform will be needed to do what we want to do this year. I expect juniors Kayla Bonilla and Dawniqua Snead to lead our team in the right direction.
ITG: What do you feel sets your program at Shaw apart from other high school programs?
JF: The girls. Shaw girls’ basketball has had its tough times in the past several years. The program has taken some knocks and needed something special to bring it back up. That’s where this current group of young ladies comes into play. When most people either left the program for other sports or other schools, this group stayed strong. They ran to the fire instead of away from it. They took their knocks and losses but did it knowing that they had a goal for the future: to recreate the culture of Shaw girls’ basketball. Most adults I know don’t have the grit to take the hard road, yet these teenagers did. That is a special quality that you cannot teach, it’s just what is in them, they never quit, and I love that about them.
ITG: Did you set any goals prior to the beginning of basketball season for your team?
JF: We always set the goal of having a better year than the year before, but I don’t want to set too many goals for the girls because then I think that puts a limit on what they can do.
ITG: What is the best thing about coaching and teaching at Shaw High School?
JF: The family that I have gained. I have two sons and I have people ask me, “Did you want a girl?” My response to them is always the same: “God blessed me with 20 girls.”
Personal bio
Name: Julee Fryer
Family: Partner, Julie; sons, Colton, 3, and Parker, 4 months
Hometown: Perry, Georgia
Education: Westfield High School; Macon State, Georgia State, and Columbus State
Past sports or athletic history: In high school, I was a three-sport athlete (softball, basketball and track). Leaving high school, I had an athletic scholarship to play softball at Macon State. However, two days after graduating high school, I was in a car wreck in which I was ejected out of the car and broke both my arms and legs. I was in a wheelchair for three months and never got the chance to play sports competitively again. This is when I developed my love for coaching.
Position you hold at Shaw High School: Special education teacher; Girls’ basketball coach
Favorite past time: When I do have free time, I really like to read.
Person you most admire: Jason Kenyon and Mary Elizabeth Paris are my heroes. Both Jason and Mary Elizabeth battled childhood cancer and fought like I have never seen people fight. Although their earthly fight is done, they both continue to fight against this horrible disease through their family and loved ones. Most people spend their life trying to touch one life the way these two beautiful children touched thousands. Our team this year will be wearing special socks to honor both Jason and Mary Elizabeth and to spread the message that only four percent of funds raised for cancer research go to childhood cancer; this is not enough!
Sports Zone/Columbus Valley/December 2015
Julee Fryer
Shaw High School Girls Basketball Coach
Columbus, Ga.
By Beth Welch
Photos by George McDuffie
