Courtesy of The Meridian Star
Players and rules change, but one thing remains the same: Doyle Wolverton wins games. And lots of them. Wolverton, the Leake Academy girls' basketball coach, won his 1100th game Saturday when his Rebelettes downed Carroll Academy 80-61. The win moved Wolverton's all-time mark to 1,100 wins and 173 losses in his 35th season at Leake. The Rebelettes (12-1) and Wolverton will look to pass the milestone tonight when Canton Academy visits Madden. "It's a really nice thing in that I'm getting close to the end of my career and not the beginning," Wolverton said, laughing. "To have 1,100 wins just means you've been successful over a long period of time. It means you've had a lot of good basketball teams and a lot of good kids that have played for me. "It was enjoyable for me, but it was also a milestone for the kids that have played for me and the school, itself." That program is something Wolverton has built from the ground up. The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Hall-of-Famer begins working with Leake Academy students in the fourth grade. From there, he drills in the basics before the Rebelettes hit the junior-high program in the seventh grade. "The program, to me, is what's important," Wolverton said. "We want to be successful year after year, and just because of that success year after year, those numbers have mounted up and, kind of, snowballed out there. "The key to the whole thing to me, is the success year after year that we've been able to achieve. I get those kids when they're in the fourth grade and I get them for about nine years if they make it all the way through until they're a senior. I get a chance to spend a lot of time with them and just have had some real nice experiences with them." That detailed program has led Leake Academy to 27 straight seasons of at least 25 wins — including 13 straight 31-win campaigns — and four of the past five Rebelette squads have won at least 40 games, a mark LA has hit six times. He has also directed 32 teams to the state tournament, winning 12 state titles — including the past four Class AA crowns — and five Overall championships. Still, with all those wins, there isn't one special moment Wolverton can pick out. He also can't identify his best team. "Somebody asked me the other day, 'Which one of your state championships was the best team?" he said. "That's hard to pick out because times change, players change. I won a couple of state championship even before we had the 3-point line." So, times have just changed. And you can't just pick out a particular game or a particular moment. They just all kind of evolve into what we have now." Rather, Wolverton devotes his time to continue building his program, and taking care of his players. "I think that's the best part of the whole thing is those people have entrusted me with those kids in the fourth grade," Wolverton said. "When you turn your child over to somebody, that's a pretty big thing."
Players and rules change, but one thing remains the same: Doyle Wolverton wins games. And lots of them. Wolverton, the Leake Academy girls' basketball coach, won his 1100th game Saturday when his Rebelettes downed Carroll Academy 80-61. The win moved Wolverton's all-time mark to 1,100 wins and 173 losses in his 35th season at Leake. The Rebelettes (12-1) and Wolverton will look to pass the milestone tonight when Canton Academy visits Madden. "It's a really nice thing in that I'm getting close to the end of my career and not the beginning," Wolverton said, laughing. "To have 1,100 wins just means you've been successful over a long period of time. It means you've had a lot of good basketball teams and a lot of good kids that have played for me. "It was enjoyable for me, but it was also a milestone for the kids that have played for me and the school, itself." That program is something Wolverton has built from the ground up. The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Hall-of-Famer begins working with Leake Academy students in the fourth grade. From there, he drills in the basics before the Rebelettes hit the junior-high program in the seventh grade. "The program, to me, is what's important," Wolverton said. "We want to be successful year after year, and just because of that success year after year, those numbers have mounted up and, kind of, snowballed out there. "The key to the whole thing to me, is the success year after year that we've been able to achieve. I get those kids when they're in the fourth grade and I get them for about nine years if they make it all the way through until they're a senior. I get a chance to spend a lot of time with them and just have had some real nice experiences with them." That detailed program has led Leake Academy to 27 straight seasons of at least 25 wins — including 13 straight 31-win campaigns — and four of the past five Rebelette squads have won at least 40 games, a mark LA has hit six times. He has also directed 32 teams to the state tournament, winning 12 state titles — including the past four Class AA crowns — and five Overall championships. Still, with all those wins, there isn't one special moment Wolverton can pick out. He also can't identify his best team. "Somebody asked me the other day, 'Which one of your state championships was the best team?" he said. "That's hard to pick out because times change, players change. I won a couple of state championship even before we had the 3-point line." So, times have just changed. And you can't just pick out a particular game or a particular moment. They just all kind of evolve into what we have now." Rather, Wolverton devotes his time to continue building his program, and taking care of his players. "I think that's the best part of the whole thing is those people have entrusted me with those kids in the fourth grade," Wolverton said. "When you turn your child over to somebody, that's a pretty big thing."
And, of course, winning games.
