Hectic summers are nothing new for Drew and Paige Adams.

Ever since the athletic duo could walk, talk and pick up a ball, it’s been the same story each and every year.

Gym after gym, court after court, camp after camp — nothing’s stood in the way of the tandem’s love for the game of basketball.

Not even when the couple said, “I do,” at their wedding ceremony last May.

Well … maybe then … but only for a brief moment.

All jokes aside, while neither Adams is a stranger to the fast-paced nature of prep basketball — both were standouts at their respective programs — they’ve had to deal with perhaps their busiest schedules to date this summer.

After all, surprising promotions tend to catch even the most organized planners off guard.

Drew is expected to accept a new position as Good Hope’s varsity boys coach — pending school board approval July 14 — after spending the past two years coaching West Point’s middle school girls, while Paige has already taken over Holly Pond’s varsity girls following the spring departure of Bronco icon and Drew’s father, Scott Adams.

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TURNING THE PAIGE

Before becoming an Adams, Paige Parker was one heckuva hoops standout for Cold Springs.

The superb scorer helped Tammy West and the Eagles earn back-to-back Class 2A state championships in 2008 and 2009 before taking her talents to Union University, where she played three seasons for the Tennessee-based Bulldogs and eventually confirmed what she already knew to be true deep down in her heart.

Coaching basketball wasn’t just everything — it was the only thing.

And thus, a career was born.

She returned to Cullman County in 2014 to assist Scott Adams on the bench for two years. Last season, she got her first look as a head honcho when she coached Holly Pond’s junior varsity girls.

This winter, however, will be a different kind of animal.

Not only will Paige take over a wildly successful program, but she’ll also have to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the aforementioned Adams — who represented the school and community with passion, intensity and unmatched character.

Nervous? Perhaps. Thrilled? Without question.

“When coach Adams told me he’d be stepping down, he did it immediately,” she said. “He told the girls, stepped aside and let me move right in to just get going and shift gears for the girls. It was awesome for him to do that. I’m super excited. It’s an honor for me to take over this program. It means so much to me that Scott would trust me to do that. I get to have a chance to impact girls who I used to be and impact their lives. It’s a blessing.”

The first-year head coach will have plenty to work with as well. Although the Green and White said goodbye to Melissa Clingman in the spring, Ruth Horton, Taylor Tankersley, Molly Gambrill and Haley Higginbotham all return to a squad fresh off an eighth straight area title and yet another 20-win campaign.

As for the 2009 Bill Shelton Award winner’s coaching philosophy, it’s simple.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken.

“The group I have has been playing for Scott for so long,” she said. “I learned his system because it’s been super effective. It’s going to play a big part in how I coach. I’ll bring in some new stuff gradually. Aggressive, man-to-man stuff. Basically, I’m going with what works and maybe just adding a bit of my flare to it. I’ll draw on some things coach West did as well.”

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JUST LIKE HE DREW IT UP

Drew Adams’ memories as a boy couldn’t be more vivid if he possessed a Pensieve.

He spent countless nights in gymnasiums all across the state sitting on the bench next to his father.

During those treasured moments, the former soaked in every possible sight, sound and noise on the hardwood hoping to one day grow up and take over a high school program just as his idol had done throughout his almost 30-year career.

In just a few short days, what was once merely a child’s dream will take its first breaths of reality when Adams is officially announced as Good Hope’s new varsity boys basketball coach. He’ll replace Chris Harris after just one season at the helm.

And when Adams takes the floor on opening night, he’ll cement his status as a third-generation coach — something near and dear to his heart.

“I didn’t know when my opportunity to be a varsity coach would arrive, so I was very grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “Good Hope, in my mind, really is on the rise. It’s an unbelievable feeling to fill that third-generation role, too. But I don’t want to necessarily be compared to them, just like it would be the same for them. My grandfather (Dewayne) passed away when I was 10-months-old, so I wasn’t able to know him. But everybody knew who that coach was and how great of man he was. Just like my dad in my mind. That’s all I want to be.”

Adams played for Mitch Morris and Holly Pond from 2009-11 and led the Broncos to a 27-6 mark his senior year en route to the Joe Shults Award. After graduation, he walked on at UAH for one season under coach Lenny Acuff — whom Adams called “one of the best coaches in the country” — for essentially a pre-coaching tutorial.

Most recently, Adams led the Lady Warriors to a 17-2 record and a runner-up finish in the middle school county tournament.

He’ll now get his chance with a Raider squad that sports talent like Matt Cofer, Kallen Sharpton, Blake Lyle and others.

Despite the change in level and personnel, Adams’ goal as a coach is more than just wins and losses.

It’s about instilling in his players the values he hopes will take them from teenagers to men as they journey their way through life.

“My dad was my hero since I was a kid,” Drew said. “You know, I loved the competitive aspect of basketball and being about to coach and lead a program. We want our kids to succeed out there, but if we’re not teaching them to be great young men, then we aren’t doing things the right way. That’s the most important thing I learned growing up with my dad. He always did things the right way. Jesus was his top priority, then family, then basketball. He gave it everything he had with every team he had.

“High school careers go by so fast. I want my guys to understand that. Yes, I want them to be successful on the basketball court but really I want anybody who plays for me to go on and be great fathers and husbands one day.”

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COUPLES WHO HOOP TOGETHER, STAY TOGETHER

Although Drew and Paige are both well aware of trials and tribulations that come with high school athletics, the pair couldn’t be more excited or any happier to support one another through the next chapter of their lives.

As for what ending will be written, only time will tell.

Neither, however, expects the road to be all that bumpy.

“We’ve always been a sports couple,” Drew said. “Our arguments are sports arguments. ‘Kobe or LeBron?’ type stuff. We know this will be a really time-consuming stretch of our lives, but we knew that when we took these jobs. When I get home, she’s more than likely going to ask me why I did what I did or didn’t play zone or use the pick and roll more instead of why I didn’t take out the trash or do the dishes.”

Paige wouldn’t go that far but did say she’ll enjoy picking her husband’s brain and sharing ideas.

“We talk basketball all the time,” she said. “It’s a neat situation that we get to do the same things. I had to draw the line, though, and tell him that he couldn’t coach girls. That might not be good for us (laughs). I’m super proud of him, just like I know he is of me. It’ll still be the same. I think it’ll just really be a good and easy transition for us.”

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AS THE OLD COACH CROWS, THE YOUNG COACHES LEARN

Scott Adams might be retired from basketball, but he could end up spending more time in the gym than ever before.

Between his trips to Holly Pond to watch his daughter-in-law lead his former program to watching his son fulfill a lifelong dream at Good Hope, the Adams family will likely be stopping for gas on the regular.

Not that he’s complaining.

“I thought it’d be a lot easier for me, but we may end up going crazy,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll definitely be supporting both. Basketball has been such an integral part of our lives. Paige is going to be an outstanding coach. She’ll be able to relate to them in ways I never could. As a dad, I really couldn’t be prouder of Drew and of Paige. That said, I’ll be doing a lot of praying for them. I know what coaching can take out of you. There’s happy and pride, but there’s also concern, too. But I have great confidence they’ll be able to handle it with class.”