Anderson Preparatory Academy (731) Built 1956
January 11, 2024: Anderson vs. Liberty Christian (Girls)
January 11, 2024: Anderson vs. Liberty Christian (Girls)
I have a disdain for charter schools that is rooted in both my upbringing in a family full of public school teachers and my traditionalist tastes as a high school basketball fan. That distate has only grown as I've become an adult and have been made aware of the many pitfalls and practices that are associated with many of them that I'm not going to discuss here. That's not to say that they're all bad and that all public schools have it figured out, they definitely don't. When it comes to gymnasiums though, I've yet to find a charter school with one that isn't as lifeless as a grave, unless they've managed to vulture one from a shuttered public school (the worst kind of charters). Anderson Preparatory Academy (APA) did just this in my own town, only they actually scavanged a former middle school gym which is somehow even worse. I really wish I had some kernels of insight into why this gym is secretly special or why the basketball program here is underrated in some way, but I've got nothing. They've never had a winning season, though I will say they are currently 6-4 as I write this so I guess that could change. They're still Anderson kids so I hope them the best.
I didn't actually watch the Jets at my first visit to "The Hangar." I came to watch the Anderson girls play in their last round of the Madison County Tournament. I knew the gym wasn't very big, but I didn't really know what I would find. It's exactly what you would expect to see from a former middle school gym. The only seating is along the sidelines. Each side has 7 rows of blue plastic bleachers. Old wooden practice hoops hang above them which gives it a small slice of retro flair. There are some old square windows along the very top of these walls that have either been blocked in or frosted over, it's hard to tell. There aren't any athletic accomplishment banners to speak of because frankly I don't think there are any accomplishments to speak of. The baseline wall opposite of where you enter has a big Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference display. It looks fine (One thing that has always struck me about his conference is that there are North and South divisions within it which is a foreign concept to me at the high school level). The lower wall here is painted a very dark navy blue. The baseline wall by the entrance holds the only redeeming quality in the entire gym. There's a nice old stage that spans about the length of the baseline itself. It's enclosed by grey stone/concrete and has a sign with "The Hangar" hung above it. It gives the place a little bit of character at least. The playing surface has been stained a medium-brown color and has no distinguishing features. A couple of vinyl-looking APA logos have been slapped on right inside the sidelines.
The Anderson Indians became my adopted team and home school when I moved here 8 years ago. I've embraced their heritage and traditions as much as the community has accepted me. As I watched a game in this gym, I couldn't help but think of it as a part of Anderson's story, not APA's (they haven't really been around long enough to have a story of their own anyways). To most people in Anderson, this place is known as South Side Middle School. It was one of two middle schools that served ACS for many years. It was closed in 2009 along with North Side when Highland High School closed and was converted into the one middle school for the entire district. Its history mirrors the history of the rest of the schools in Anderson and the town itself. It's a history that's both proud and profoundly sad at the same time. This place doesn't register as "The Hangar" to me, it's another symbol of what once was. It's not as big of a symbol as the one that sits empty about 20 city blocks north of it, but it still makes me wish again that I could've seen everything in this town when it was humming. I'm a believer that God places you in the time and places he has intended for you, but man I wish he'd let me visit a few others just once.
