Twin Springs girls sitting on top of Cumberland District

NICKELSVILLE — The Titans are flying high in Terry Bird's first season as the girls basketball coach at Twin Springs. Halfway through the Cumberland District schedule, the Titans are sitting in first place with a 5-0 record. Bird is hopeful that the snowy grip of Mother Nature hasn't put a halt to their momentum as the postseason approaches. "It is unfortunate, but at the same time I guess everybody is in the same boat for the most part," said Bird, whose Titans are slated to host Thomas Walker on Thursday. "We have been having good practices and that is good. Just staying in a rhythm, it does kind of throw you out of kilter just a little bit to have all this stuff going on, but it is just part of it. You have got to deal with it." Twin Springs (12-6), which hasn't played since winning at Rye Cove on Jan. 23, has been led by the double threat of sophomore Emma Ross (19 ppg) and senior Mackenzie Gillenwater (12 ppg, 8.5 reb), two of the better all-around athletes in the region. "It is a basketball community. They love basketball and they have got a good history with basketball," Bird said. "Fortunately, this year we ran into a year where we have enough pieces that we can be competitive because it is not every year you have got an Emma Ross and a Kenzie Gillenwater at a school that size so I have been really fortunate." There's more, including the senior duo of Sarah Davidson and Lindsey Dean, along with freshman point guard Isabella Dingas, with much of team playing three sports, including volleyball and softball for the small school Titans, who are currently ranked eighth in Class 1 by the Basketball Coaches Association of Virginia. "I don't know if I thought we would be sitting where we are at this point necessarily. You never know, but a new coach, new team," Bird said. "I have done it a long time so I know it don't always go textbook, but this group honestly, we kind of click pretty good. I can coach them hard and they don't take it the wrong way. "They want to be coached hard. Their parents are the kind of people that are competitive and want to win and want to compete so they are supportive of how we do it." Born in basketball-crazed Kentucky, Bird played college ball at the University of Pikeville and the University of Virginia's College at Wise. He has also been an assistant at Gate City, and has served for years as a summer league coach in addition to his passion for individual training. Count Daniel Boone standout Andrea Flores and Carter Jones from West Ridge among his current pupils, along with his own players as well. "Player development is where it is at. If you can get kids in the gym individually and work with them and just show them you care about them and you want to help them get better," said Bird, "then when you go back in the gym and you coach them in practice they understand when you are getting on them that you are investing time in them individually and they know it is coming from a place that you want to help them. "I really think that is a big part of our success this year honestly." The Twin Springs boys have long had a tradition on the hardcourt, and the girls are starting to build their own, having reached the Region 1D semifinals last season under Robin Tiller for the first time in program history, falling to perennial regional contender Honaker. Bird thinks this edition of the Titans could be a threat in Region 1D, along with the Tigers, Cumberland District foe Eastside and Chilhowie. In addition to splitting a pair of games with Honaker in this year's non-conference slate, the Titans also have a win over Eastside, and could edge closer to a Cumberland District regular season title with a win on Monday over the Spartans in Coeburn. "That is essentially for the district championship," said Bird, who spent 32 years at Eastman before beginning his tenure at Twin Springs, where he also teaches physical education. "I think it is between us and them. If we win we would be district champion. If they win it would be a tie and we would end up doing a playoff game to decide it. That is going to be a big one for us." There are a lot of big ones ahead as the season enters February, with every team eyeing a run into March. Now, if Mother Nature would cooperate and let the teams play again. "I am really fortunate because the administration over there has been real supportive," Bird said. "You have got great fans and you have kids that want to work and are coachable and the parents are on board so it has really been as good a situation for me as I could have hoped for in my first year. "That being said, there is a lot of basketball to be played and nothing is decided. It is at the point where everything is on hold. It is like everybody pushes pause and when you come back out you just hope that you are still clicking and you are able to get it going again and the other teams are not. "We have got a long way to go."