Olympia's Taylor Hair leads team into tourney

By Emilee Jackson
| 1:36 a.m. January 22, 2015

Sports

Taylor Hair started playing basketball when she was just 7 years old.

At the time, she did not know much about the sport, but one of the instructors at a camp program saw something special.

“One of the instructors there was like, ‘Taylor, you have height, and I see potential in you in basketball,’” Hair, a sophomore for the Olympia Titans, recalled.

Hair started playing with a co-ed team, and people were unsure of how competing with boys would affect her. Hair didn’t let that faze her, though, and, years later as a standout for an Olympia team boasting a 15-5 record this season, it seems to have worked out just fine.

“I gave it a try, and I loved it,” she said.

Hair has been key in the Titans’ success so far this season, most recently scoring 16 points Jan. 15 in an overtime win over Boone. Still, as an incoming freshman last season, head coach Robert Carmody said Hair “was like a typical freshman” — meaning she wasn’t sure how good she was supposed to be.

“It took a little bit of the season for her to build that self-confidence up, and now, she’s a team leader in terms of the intensity she brings, the passion she brings.” Carmody said. “Nobody wants to win more than Taylor — which is awesome.”

With the growth that Hair has shown throughout the last two seasons with the Titans, Carmody knows that she’s going to continue to improve and make a case as one of the best players in a talented Central Florida region.

“By the time she’s a senior, I expect her to be one of the best players in the area, by far,” Carmody said. “She works really hard for it, she’s a year-round player. She works her heart out, so she’s going to be as good as she wants to be.”

Hair often leads Olympia in scoring, but the work she does on the glass really sets the sophomore apart. Carmody said it is rare for Hair to finish with fewer than 10 rebounds in a night — even with other teams going to great lengths to neutralize her impact.

“She gets everybody’s best shot every game,” Carmody said. “One thing she’ll always do, you can count on — she’ll rebound.”

Even with her successful season, Hair sees room for improvement within herself with the Class 8A District 3 Tournament looming next week.

“I can do more,” Hair said. “I’m not complacent with this position I’m at; I’d like to exceed, to better things in the season.”

With the cancellation of the remainder of West Orange’s season, recently, the district tournament will be a four-team battle among the Titans, Apopka, Evans and Ocoee for two spots in the state playoffs. Hair said the team has been working toward districts for a while and could not be more excited about taking the court next week.

“I’m hyped — I’m ready to play,” she said. “This is something we’ve actually worked really hard for, and I feel like we deserve to hold (the district title trophy).”