With football season recently over, the Fort Dale Eagles must now turn their attention toward basketball season.

The boys’ team begins the year on short notice.

Football season ended last Friday night, and the team had their first practice on Sunday.

Tuesday’s game against Sparta will essentially be the third practice of the year for the team.

“We’ve got three seniors on our boys team,” said head coach William Johnson.

Steven Lee and Sanders Hancock will see playing time in the early part of the season, but fellow senior Kendall Gibson is recovering from a few bumps and bruises left over from football season.

Johnson said this year’s team is a very young team.

“We’ve got a lot of sophomores, freshmen and juniors,” he said. “But these underclassmen got some playing experience last year.”

“We’re in a very tough region for both the boys and girls,” Johnson continued. “If we can make it to the playoffs, I feel good about our chances.”

Much like the boys team, the Fort Dale girls are a young team.

Elizabeth Dunklin and Tiffany Sims are the two seniors on the squad.

“We’re relying on a lot of sophomores and juniors,” Johnson said. “That’s a good thing, because these younger girls played as freshmen last year.”

Last year’s team only had three seniors, and one of those missed the season with an injury.

“We had a good team camp, and it should be a good season,” Johnson said.