Kevin Llewallyn
Tucked in the shadows of Lookout Mountain, just on the other side of Moccasin Bend from downtown Chattanooga, is a small high school that is often over-looked in a school system that boasts nearly 15,000 high school students at over 20 public schools.
As the smallest traditional public high school in Hamilton County with just 180 students, Lookout Valley High School might be only five miles away from the “big city,” but it can seem like a world away for anyone who drives through the quaint middle-class neighborhood on their way to the school.
And while not many people know much about the school, and even fewer know about the lives and the stories of the students that attend, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t fantastic accomplishments by kids who are destined for great things.
Never is this more apparent than with the girls’ basketball team. The Lady Yellowjackets serve as a microcosm of everything that is good about living in a small community. With just eight active players, Coach Kristen Clounch’s squad represents what life is like when a team feels more like family than simply a group of individuals.
The indisputable leader on the court is senior Rainey Barber. The 5’7” point guard, who is averaging over 20 points per game for the Lady Jackets, is dazzling with her ball-handling skills. But Barber said the first time she ever picked up a basketball many years ago came more as an accident.
“I was maybe 5 years old at one of my younger brother’s basketball games,” said Barber. “They only had four players, so they were going to have to forfeit unless they found one more player. They asked if I wanted to play, so I stepped in just as an extra body so they would have enough. I’ve loved basketball ever since.”
Barber credits growing up with her brother Ryan, who is a junior on the boys’ team, as the biggest influence on her basketball development. But she also says that her experience playing at Lookout Valley has been one that she has thoroughly enjoyed.
“A lot of my friends that I’ve met through playing AAU basketball who go to larger schools in the area would have never known about Lookout Valley if I didn’t go here,” Barber said. “This has been a cool experience because it’s smaller and you get to know everybody; just a great atmosphere to be in.”
While Barber would love to play basketball at the next level, she said that would only happen if she could do it at a school that had what she wanted academically, which is the chance to pursue a career in interior design.
“I’ve always loved watching all of the home renovation shows on HGTV,” said Barber, who was adamant that her future academically was far more important than basketball. “Playing AAU basketball for most of my life, I was worried when I told my mom that I might not pursue basketball in college because of all the money she had put into my playing. But she told me that she just wanted me to do what I loved and to be the best person I can be.”
“Going to Lookout Valley has prepared me for that,” Barber continued. “Being a student in such a small school has allowed me to see my teachers and Coach Clounch more like second parents. They’ve really helped to get me to this point, and to be ready for whatever is next in my life.”
That sentiment was echoed by the team’s other two seniors, Madalinn Millraney and Rylee Morton. Both have lived in the Lookout Valley community their entire lives, and feel that not enough people understand the value behind going to school and playing sports in a small school.
“There are positive and negative aspects to it,” said Morton, whose dad is the Lookout Valley boys’ basketball coach. “I love playing with the same people and seeing the same faces, but at the same time there are home games where there are more fans in the visiting section than our own.”
“I feel like it gets stereotyped as not as good of a school or community because people don’t give it the opportunity,” Morton continued. “We don’t get a lot of funding for things because the school is so old, and they don’t want to put as much money into a school that might not be here in a few years.”
One advantage to playing together their entire lives is in the stories that they have about each other.
Joked Morton: “Madalinn has a twin brother, and when we were in elementary school they had hit their growth spurts before anyone else. So there was a rule that the Millraneys couldn’t be on the same team because they would destroy everyone else. We all finally started to catch up in middle school.”
All three seniors said that the most important thing they could do for the team was to lead by example academically. Millraney wants to become a mechanic, while Morton is thinking of dental hygiene in her future.
Barber said that being a mentor to the younger players is something she takes very seriously.
“You have to be a leader on and off the court,” Barber said. “The younger players look at the way I carry myself in terms of my grades, because being a student-athlete isn’t always easy, but being able to balance sports and grades is what they look at me for.”
There are two sets of sisters on the team with very different stories. Madalinn’s younger sister, Payton, is a junior, while the team also features Princess and Angel Simmons. Princess is a sophomore, while Angel is a freshman.
While the Millraneys have grown up in the community, the Simmons’ pair just moved in a year and a half ago from East Ridge. But the fact that the school is more like a family has made the transition much easier.
“When we first moved, I was worried that I wouldn’t have any friends because everyone has known each other for years,” said the older Simmons. “But everyone was just so welcoming and friendly; they made us feel like we were a part of their family from the first day.”
Sophomore Abby Reed said that just because they were a tight-knit community didn’t mean they wouldn’t love for people to come be a part of the Lookout Valley family.
“Just because we are all so close doesn’t mean that we won’t accept other people,” Reed said. “There’s a lot of diversity here. There is a lot going on, and we have a lot to offer anyone that wants to come here.”
On the court, the Simmons sisters were easy to accept, as they gave the Lady Jackets two more dynamic scoring options. Angel is currently sidelined with an injury, but Princess has become Robin to Barber’s Batman, providing the team with a potent 1-2 punch at the guard position.
In terms of what the girls hope to accomplish as a team, they certainly have their eyes focused on winning their district. But the overwhelming and more pressing desire for each and every girl was abundantly clear: Beat Tellico Plains.
The Lady Bears have been the major roadblock for Lookout Valley over the past few years, and it was evident in the reaction on the face of each girl when the school was mentioned.
“We know that to get where we want to get to, we have to go through them,” Barber said.
The Lady Jackets suffered a small district setback this past Friday night, losing on the road to Arts and Sciences 44-37. Their next game is at Tellico Plains on Tuesday night, which will give Clounch a better idea of where they stand.
Clounch, who is a Lookout Valley kid herself, comes from a deep basketball coaching family. Her father, Joe Galloway, coached for nearly 40 years, while her younger sister, Katie Burrows, is the head coach of the UTC women’s team.
But those details pale in comparison to Clounch’s desire for her kids, school, and community to get the recognition they deserve.
“I just want people to realize just how special the kids are down here,” said Clounch. “These kids and this school deserve every bit of the praise and accolades that the other schools in this county get. We have some amazing kids here, and that starts with the girls on this team. I just want the rest of this area to know that.”
(Email Kevin Llewallyn at kevin.llewallyn@gmail.com)