When Southeast Alamance High School opened in 2023, BJ Condron had been considering joining the athletic administration. He had coached women's basketball at Orange High School for 10 years, but was starting to become interested in the athletic department.
“I found myself enjoying the administrative parts of the job, and was thinking about going into athletic administration,” Condron said. “The job here came open, and I decided I would throw my name in and was lucky enough to get the job.”
Condron said he wanted to establish multiple principles after being named the athletic director. He listed one of his goals as forming a beneficial experience for all students playing sports.
“Our mission is to create a positive athletic experience for our student-athletes in the community,” Condron said. “We want our student-athletes and their families to leave with good memories.”
In doing so, Condron said it’s necessary to prioritize setting a culture around the sports program. Condron stated the importance of having the right people around to set up the program’s core values.
“It’s important to start with a good culture,” Condron said. “To have a good culture you have to have good people, so it involves establishing a good coaching staff to work with our student athletes and trying to find the best people that fit some of the core values.”
One of those people is men’s basketball coach Brandon Williamson. He previously coached middle school basketball, but said he was intrigued by the chance to build a new program.
“It’s not too many times you get an opportunity to start something brand new,” Williamson said. “The biggest thing is just being able to establish your own culture.”
Williamson said the team’s culture is built through love as he believes it allows the team to bond together.
“I use the word ‘love’ quite often to explain our culture from a basketball standpoint,” Williamson said. “I think love can develop that chemistry organically, and we’ll be able to find ways to sacrifice and do things for one another.”
He emphasized the desire for his players to gain something from the season beyond just basketball.
“Most people aren’t going to play college sports and that’s OK,” Williamson said. “But I want us to get something out of this four month experience we’re having. We just try to create an environment where people want to be around each other and play for one another.”
Last year, the Southeast Alamance Stallions rode a nine game winning streak into the playoffs where they advanced to the third round.
Williamson said one thing he learned about coaching a brand new team was that it takes time. Having won championships before, Williamson went into last season with similar expectations but understood that it would be a process.
“You can’t go into a situation expecting championships right off the bat,” Williamson said. “It takes time, but the fact that we were there wasn’t to be expected. It simply goes back to us getting hot and growing chemistry at the right time.”
Condron also said that some obstacles also involve having to learn as everything else is going on. He added that many coaches in sports outside of basketball have helped him manage certain challenges.
“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses,” Condron said. “I was able to find some people that are more than willing to help me with my weaknesses and make sure that we’re prepared for every event and sport.”
Condron said he’s been encouraged by how new students have responded to the program’s early stages. He said that there’s a student council which gives students an opportunity to contribute to the high school's principles.
“They responded well to it so far,” Condron said. “They’re buying into the culture, but at the same time, it’s also up to the students to create the culture. We have a student council where students are able to help create part of the culture as well.”
Williamson said he was also impressed by how students have responded to the new principles he’s establishing within the high school’s sports program. He has noticed a significant difference compared to his first year.
“We can already see a difference,” Williamson said. “Year one was a whirlwind because my players were coming from other coaches' philosophies that weren’t ours. It’s not anyone’s fault, but we’re now miles ahead than where we were before.”
Condron said that there’s still work going forward. However, he likes where the sports program currently stands as a whole. He said that everyone just has to keep progressing for their athletics to flourish.
“I think we’ve got a long way to go,” Condron said. “There’s a lot of improvements we want to make and we have a vision moving forward. I think so far, we’re on a pretty good track.”