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Back in the Dawg Pound
Central alums return to help coach
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Forsyth County News
A couple of former Lady Bulldogs are giving the current generation of Forsyth Central basketball some pointers over the summer.

Morgan Loughrey and Amy Mohr, both Central graduates, are working as summer coaches with the Central girls, bringing some of the know-how they've gained from playing college hoops to help their high school alma mater.

"They haven't just been bystanders this summer. They've coached as hard as we have and they've gotten after 'em," Central coach Andy Martin said.

"There's an emotional attachment to this gym and this program," said Loughrey, a 2007 Central graduate getting ready for her sophomore year at Division II Rollins College in central Florida. She's studying critical media and cultural studies and thinking about minoring in education.

Mohr recently graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she made the NCAA Tournament in three of four seasons. She's planning to start graduate studies at the University of Georgia this fall, studying biology. She eventually hopes to teach high school.

"Being a small part of [the team] this summer is a really cool opportunity," said Mohr, who graduated Central in 2004.

Mohr said she learned a lot from her time at Central and attending camps from coaches at the school. She said she's enjoying the chance to pass along some of her knowledge to younger players — and she's not shy about showing them her moves on the court, either.

"I still wear my basketball shoes to practice. If anyone is looking for some additional action or training, I'm always up for that," she said.

Both women were team captains and three-year starters at Central. They led their respective high school teams in scoring and were both nominated for the Wendy's High School Heisman award. Mohr had her jersey number retired by the high school, the only player to receive that honor in girls basketball, Martin said.

Loughrey said that making the transition from high school to college was tough at first — adjusting from spending two hours a day on basketball to a current routine that requires her to fit a two-hour workout at 5:30 a.m., a mid-day shootaround and a nightly practice session around going to classes.

The experience has been valuable, though, as Loughrey has been able to bring some of the college plays she's picked up into the Central practice sessions, after Martin realized the team was ready for some more complex drills.

Mohr has been impressed with what she's seen from the Lady Dawgs.

"I think they've got a lot of talent at different positions. One thing that really stands
out to me is just a collective work ethic that the team has. I think that's just a
priceless aspect to have."

Martin said that having players not too far removed from high school helps bridge a generation gap between high school players and coaches like himself. They have the talent and experience to be able to teach varsity players new things on the court, as well as the coaching instinct to be able to encourage players on the junior varsity, he said.

"[The players]  trust us, they believe in us, but at the same time, in some respects we're ancient to them. ... To have Morgan and Amy in here as two former Bulldogs — they can look up and see their pictures on the wall and their uniforms hanging on the wall and then see what they're doing now, it gives them a whole different perspective, one that I think they can relate to a lot easier," said Martin.

Sports editor Jared Putnam contributed to this article.