While I haven’t been in Elmore County for very long, I’ve quickly understood a few things about this community: y’all take high school sports seriously. That is one of the primary reasons why I’ve connected with this area of Alabama, a place that has few — if any — discernable commonalities with my hometown of Houston, Texas and the suburban neighborhood that raised me.
The most prominent example is the athletics facilities. From the Wetumpka Sports Complex to 17 Springs in Millbrook to the brand-new turf fields at every high school that I cover, high school sports are serious business here; and it’s not just football, it is every single sport.
This week I had the privilege of attending the first basketball play date hosted in the new 17 Springs Fieldhouse. I walked in the place, camera bag slung over one shoulder and took in the sight. Immediately I thought to myself, “Wow, I never played anywhere that was as nice as this.”
As I scouted where I’d camp out to shoot photos for my teams, I noticed the quality of the flooring. It was (I think) a cement foundation with a gray rubber covering that provided good grip for basketball shoes. The atmosphere was slightly chaotic with four games happening simultaneously, but there was plenty of separation between each court.
I very rarely saw stray basketballs rolling into the melee of another game in progress. I never saw players from other courts diving for balls out of bounds and ending up in a collision with a player in a whole other game. These are things I grew accustomed to seeing in my days of traveling to tournaments every weekend to play basketball, whether with my teams or my brother’s.
As a facility, 17 Springs is sleek, modern and spacious. It even includes a mezzanine for spectators who crave more assurance that a sweaty basketball player won’t go flying into them on the bleachers. Each court is even equipped with a digital score board.
Speaking with coaches after their games, the qualities that impressed me were echoed. Parents I spoke with praised 17 Springs with enthusiasm, commenting on how nice it is for the community to have an athletic facility central to Elmore County rather than having to travel to Montgomery.
Despite only being in my third week, I’ve seen countless examples of the passion and dedication of this community to uplifting and highlighting student athletes. 17 Springs is an example of that, its construction was a labor of love to Elmore County and its athletics.
Ana Sofia Meyer is a sports reporter for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.