Fairhope's varsity girls will open the season Nov. 8 at home against Blount. The varsity boys will open the season at the Robertsdale Tipoff Tournament against Davidson on Nov. 20. 

FAIRHOPE BOYS

Now in his 14th year leading the Pirates and 35th overall coaching, head coach Ralph Watson said he still finds joy in the grind. Fairhope finished 21-7 last season, finishing second in 7A Area 2 before beating Daphne in the Elite Eight and advancing to the Final Four.

“I still enjoy the grind,” Watson said. “Every team is a new challenge. Every personality is a new challenge, and this team has that as well. There are things I am excited about and there are some challenges that we have to attack — when you have a talented group, are you willing to give up a little bit and be willing to play with competitive maturity.”

Watson said this year’s schedule is one of the toughest he’s ever put together, featuring long road trips meant to build team chemistry. The Pirates have seven seniors and eight juniors, led by senior guards Alex Markris and Marc Howard, who are among the program’s best shooters and leaders.

FAIRHOPE GIRLS

Head coach Gabby Gilson enters her sixth year with Fairhope and fourth as head coach, coming off a 12-11 season in which the Pirates finished third in 7A Area 2. With every player returning from last year’s roster except one graduate, Gilson said experience will be a major advantage.

“It’s a huge advantage,” Gilson said. “They know how we operate in our system, what we expect, what the standard is. Everybody holds everybody accountable. We know how we should be practicing. We know what it takes to win — we can kind of keep rolling with what we were doing last year and we had a good summer.”

Senior leaders Lucia Jordan, Libby Rogers and Addisyn Laughman all bring four years of varsity experience, with Laughman returning from an ACL injury. Gilson said she plans to rotate all 12 players regularly to maintain depth throughout the season.