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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Thompson Warriors will enter the 2024-25 season with a much different look than a year ago, but they hope to continue building off last season’s foundation to face the challenges ahead.

No change is bigger than the most recent one: Madison Pierce’s promotion to interim head coach after former head coach Art Bogan resigned on Sept. 24 following one season at the helm.

For Pierce, while the opportunity was thrust upon her with just over six weeks until the start of the season, this is a moment that is years in the making after serving as an assistant coach since 2019.

“It has been a whirlwind of a past couple weeks, but I have been preparing and leading up for this opportunity whenever it was to happen,” Pierce said. “I’ve just been really excited and I’ve just been working on all kinds of things, spirit packs, schedules and then just making sure we’re getting our team together. We are ready to rock and roll.”

Pierce’s familiarity with the players has helped make the transition smooth. Sophomore guard KK Fenderson said that much is the same since she took the reins.

“Coach Pearce has been around for a long time, so we’ve gotten used to her coaching style, the way she’s developed everyone,” Fenderson said. “So, it’s really the same. It’s just now she has more authority.”

However, Pierce recognizes that being the head coach comes with significant responsibilities. She said that she needs to prove to her players that they can trust her to make the right calls, but she also said the team has already embraced her as their leader.

“I think the biggest thing is building this trust,” Pierce said. “Me stepping into this role, them getting to know me, them putting the time and effort into it, I think trust is going to come down to a lot of things in this season. At the end of the game, can they trust that I’m going to draw up the right play at the end of the game, can I trust who’s in and that they put the work in? So, I think trust is probably going come down to be the biggest factor this season, but they’ve already proven that they’re trusting and they want that, and so, I really don’t see any challenges to this.”

On the court, the Warriors will definitely look different from last season with Fenderson being the lone returning starter. Three of last year’s key contributors transferred, one graduated and another decided to focus on another sport.

Despite the losses, Pierce believes this team will continue building off the quicker pace of play that Bogan implemented last season by using their speed, athleticism, teamwork and hustle.

“I think coach Bogan did a great job with the program last year,” Pierce said. “We were faster, stronger, the game was more entertaining to watch, and we’re going to still bring that same style. There will be some adjustments as far as offensively, but as far as the same sort of energetic style and fun to watch, we’re still bringing that same energy.”

The departures also left leadership voids both on the coaching staff and throughout the team, but Pierce and players like Fenderson and newcomer Destinee Ealy are growing into those leadership roles alongside each other, leading to a closer-knit team.

“I think it’s only brought us stronger because we’re no longer looking at the person ahead of us,” Pierce said. “It’s now, they’re stepping into these roles. They’re excited about these opportunities, about these roles, just like I have stepped into this head coaching opportunity. They are stepping up into their own personal roles, and they are just coming in with a lot of energy and have been putting the work in. So, it makes me excited as their coach.”

Still just a sophomore but already a key contributor as a double-digit scorer and the county leader in assists last season, Fenderson sees herself as a vocal leader who will help encourage her teammates through tough times.

“My main motive is to like encourage everyone, cause it’s going to be hard, but we’re going to push through it, and I’m just going to be the best I can be,” Fenderson said. “Everything happens for a reason, so I’m just going to try my best.”

Pierce said one of the goals for this year’s team is to bring intensity to everything they do and play to win with 100 percent of their potential.

“I think the first goal is many goals, so every time every time we step on the court, whether that’s practice or games, we’re trying to win that day,” Pierce said. “So, whether we’re trying to win practice, we’re trying to win whatever game, whoever we’re playing, it doesn’t matter the name on the jersey, we’re coming full speed ahead and giving them everything we’ve got.”

Pierce knows that there will be bumps in the road, but her players say that she is gracious when mistakes happen and helps provide constructive criticism to uplift the team.

For Ealy as an incoming transfer, it’s a breath of fresh air, and she and the rest of the team are motivated to give their all for their new head coach.

“The way she coaches is just something that any player will want to play for,” Ealy said.

With Pierce at the helm, the Warriors hope to give it their all on the court and keep fighting until the very end in pursuit of their goal of breaking through an area of Prattville, Tuscaloosa County and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and reach the playoffs.

“Doesn’t matter if we’re down a couple points, we’re still coming in with the mindset or mentality that the game’s not over until the last second goes off, and so we’re going to give them everything we have,” Pierce said.