Future Lady Coyotes shine at Rising Stars Basketball Camp in Alice

Marili Santos and her staff spent the second day of Rising Stars Basketball Camp doing more than running drills in the Alice High School gym. They were shaping the next generation of Lady Coyotes, giving young Alice girls a chance to learn the game in the same program pipeline that feeds the high school team.

The June 3 sports feature by Pete Vasquez framed the camp as a glimpse of what is coming next for Alice girls basketball. The focus was on growth, not just play. Camp settings like this are where young athletes sharpen ball handling, shooting, movement, teamwork and game understanding while building the confidence that often separates a hesitant player from one ready for the floor.

That developmental role gives the camp its value in Jim Wells County. The girls who spent part of the summer in the gym were not simply passing time. They were learning habits that can carry into the school year, where repetition and coaching matter as much as raw talent. In a community where Alice High School athletics are closely followed, that kind of early instruction becomes visible community work.

The Lady Coyote connection also runs deeper than one summer session. Alice High School records list Marili Santos as girls P.E., girls athletics, head girls basketball and assistant golf. MaxPreps also identifies her as the head coach for Alice girls basketball for 2025-26. That continuity helps explain why the Rising Stars camp fits so naturally into the program’s identity. The same leadership guiding the high school team is helping younger players learn what it takes to become part of it.

This is not a small pipeline in a small town. Alice High School enrolled about 1,290 students in the 2024-25 academic year and serves as the only comprehensive high school in Alice ISD. The school’s Coyote and Lady Coyote identity gives basketball added weight, because what happens in the gym often becomes part of the city’s larger sense of itself.

The varsity backdrop shows why the work matters. MaxPreps lists the 2025-26 Alice girls basketball team at 6-26 overall and 2-14 in district play, finishing eighth in district. Alice ISD also posts an official 2025-26 Lady Coyote Basketball Schedule, keeping the program visible year-round. Against that backdrop, Rising Stars was not just a camp recap. It was a look at how Alice is building future Lady Coyotes, one day in the gym at a time.