CAIRO — The Cairo boys and girls basketball teams have been hard at work this summer. Both squads have been traveling to colleges around the south, looking to hone their skills against fresh competition.

The Syrupmaids spent last week at Georgia College and are spending the early days of this week in Statesboro at Georgia Southern before heading down to Florida State this weekend.

While the squad is young, they have held their own, winning more often than not and looking solid on offense. Head Coach Melissa McClendon said she thinks the experience will be good for her young team.

“Going to the different colleges, getting to actually play on these college level floors, getting to be seen by college coaches, seeing how their coaches are coaching their high school kids and how those kids are responding and taking coaching, I think it just adds to the experience of it,” she said. “We are getting a lot of experience. Playing teams we haven’t seen before allows me to work on my coaching as well as the kids working on their playing. Just honing their skills.”

As for the boys squad, the Syrupmakers most recently got back from camps at Auburn and Florida State. This summer their focus is also on the youth of the team, bringing the young guys up to speed. There are several freshman on this Cairo team who could see varsity minutes this season.

For head coach JJ Cooper, he wants his players to play as much as they can, implementing what he calls “a full season in the summer”. All in all this Cairo boys basketball team will play 20 to 25 games in the month of June, a schedule that seems exhausting. But, Cooper says it’s valuable experience that his players can take into the fall.

“I know it’s grueling on the players to play that many games in one month, but for me it’s the experience,” he said. “Guys who come in in December, they really aren’t freshman anymore because they’ve played 25 basketball games.”

This Syrupmakers team will also be focusing on a transition of leadership, as younger players assume leadership roles on the team.

“It’s different, especially when you’ve been the young guys for three or four years and then you look around and there aren’t any older guys, you are the older guy,” Cooper explained.

These two teams have been focusing in this summer, improving and building their confidence for the coming season.