By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
Lake Placid senior Alex Coyne received more good news this week, per her standout basketball abilities, when she was named to the South squad for this weekend's FACA All-Star Girls Basketball Classic in Fort Pierce.
It was quite a season of achievement for the versatile point guard as, after accepting a Division I scholarship to Southern Miss, Coyne broke the 1,000-point barrier for her high school career and lead the Lady Dragons to the first Elite Eight appearance in their history.
And on the heels of such achievements come the accolades.
"I was given a packet by (Sebring girls) coach Lee, who is the head of District 16 and that was the nomination," Coyne said. "He nominated me so I filled it out and mailed it in."
The nomination forms from all over the state were then perused over by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association and 21 heralded hoopsters were selected for the North-South battle, including Coyne.
"It feels great," she said. "I always like accomplishing something that I've never accomplished before."
And while some might see the event as a showcase to perhaps enhance their profile for college recruiters, with scholarship already in hand, Coyne can relax and just play.
"This isn't going to be an exposure event for me so I will just enjoy my last 'high school' game and get a fun, competitive game before I'm off to Southern Miss," she said. "I don't recognize any names (of other players selected) on the list so it's just another opportunity to make friends, play with kids I've never played with before, and share this opportunity with a bunch of other girls that share the same love for the game as I do. I'm really excited."
Founded in 1936 by a group of head coaches, the Florida Athletic Coaches Association is comprised of more than 5,000 member coaches, both high school and college, in the state of Florida.
The Florida Athletic Coaches Association sponsors 10 High School All-Star Classics in nine sports, conducts four coaching clinics each year and recognizes coaches for their exemplary efforts supporting the youth of this state.
For more information, visit www.floridacoaches.org.
Friday, March 15, 2013 - www.newssun.com/FRI-3-15-13-AlexFACA