Vacher Hammett set to lead Lady Rebels

BY DANIEL SCHMIDT 

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LAFAYETTE — When Vacher Hammett initially arrived at Chambers Academy, he had to take stock of a girls basketball team that had been without a head coach for weeks and spent little time together on the court over the summer.

Now after gaining an understanding of what he has to work with this upcoming season, the Lady Rebels’ new head coach is ready to get to work.

“I’m very excited. This is a new journey for me,” Hammett said. “I’ve never coached high school girls basketball. I have four daughters, and three have played college basketball, so I had an opportunity to train them and coach them a little bit. So I’m familiar with the female perspective of it, but never really just coached in public school nor private school girls.”

Hammett arrives in LaFayette with an impressive basketball resume. He comes to Chambers Academy from Troup County High School in LaGrange, Georgia, where he was the head boys coach.

This past season, he guided the Tigers to a 22-9 overall record and an appearance in GHSA AAA state quarterfinals, one of the best seasons in program history.

Despite that success, Hammett intentionally sought out a change.

After seeing the open position on the Alabama Independent School Association’s website, Hammett said he applied without any expectations.

Then, when the call came from Chambers Academy athletic director and head football coach Jason Allen, Hammett said he was shocked.

Hammett then recalled an initial visit with headmaster Jon Owens and other staff members who welcomed him with “open arms” and made it “feel right.” 

“I actually felt like I’m getting older, and I felt like this is an opportunity to, not to work my way into retirement, but an opportunity to deal with students and athletes on a smaller scale,” Hammett said. “I’m not getting any younger, and I’m up for the challenge. I like challenges. My family is competitive, and we’re a basketball family, so this is an opportunity to make a difference and do something different.”

Hammett said he was excited to start the season after getting a first glimpse of his new team.

When he first entered the Rebels’ weight room, he said he expected the kind of team he’d pictured from years around private-school athletics: cheerleaders, multi-sport dabblers and athletes for whom basketball was only an afterthought.

Instead, he found a weight room full of girls grinding through crunches, barbell squats and bench presses under Allen’s supervision, giving it everything they had.

“That won me over,” Hammett said. “Girls work harder. They absorb like a sponge. The boys feel like they know it all. They’re more athletic than we were back in the day, so they think that already makes them a good player. They don’t feel like they have room to grow like the girls do.”

If Chambers Academy feels familiar, it’s because Hammett is no stranger to private-school life. All of his children attended private schools, with two of his daughters graduating from nearby rival Springwood School, where they played on an undefeated state championship team. 

Hammett himself played at LaGrange High School and LaGrange College, and his wife coaches the girls’ side of the family’s travel-ball organization. With his deep connections to basketball in East Alabama and West Georgia, the rivalry connection was not lost on him.

“I wonder what side my daughters are going to sit on,” Hammett said jokingly. “They better sit on dad’s side.”

With the season on the horizon, Hammett was not shy about his goals for the coming season: a run at a regional championship and a deep push in the state tournament, ideally to the finals. 

“I’m not saying I’m a miracle worker and that we’re going to win state this year, but Chambers Academy girls basketball is going to be on the map. I think we’re going to shock a lot of people with our style of play and our toughness,” Hammett said.

He added that he believes that success will not be short-lived. Much of his roster is made up of seventh- and eighth-graders, including some of his tallest players.

“I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be around for a good while,” Hammett said. “I feel like this is the right fit, and I’m hoping for success.