Recently won a national championship

Three local girls are showing off their basketball skills and succeeding for their sixth grade Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, West Virginia Dynasty, coached by Eric Bailey, of Ironton, who is in his first year coaching the team.

“We have girls from all over the Tri-State area, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky,” Bailey said. “And we just won the national championship in the silver division this past weekend.”

Players from Lawrence County on the team include Bailey’s daughter, Hadyn Bailey, and Evan Williams, both from Ironton, and Emma Scott, from Rock Hill. Hadyn Bailey and Williams will be in the seventh grade next year, while Scott will be in the sixth grade next year. The team will move up to a seventh grade level next year, with Scott still being able to play because Bailey said players can always play up, just not down.

“We try to get the best players from our area to play, because it’s a good way to get noticed by colleges for scholarships,” Bailey said. “It gets them exposed to many scouts, which is what this is about.”

He added that scouts from Duke University, the University of Kentucky, Radford University and more have already taken notice of girls on his team.

The AAU season takes place from April to about the end of July.

Besides being the coach of the West Virginia Dynasty, Bailey also coaches the Believers basketball ministry at Sugar Creek Missionary Baptist Church, where he serves as the youth director as well.