'Made from scratch': Player development is Mainland girls basketball coach Zykia McNair's focus

For the second year, McNair organized a girls summer basketball league for her Bucs and other local teams.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 3:00 p.m. June 25, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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For the second consecutive year, Mainland girls’ basketball coach Zykia McNair collaborated with boys coach Joe Giddens to bring local girls teams into the Bucs’ summer basketball league. Eight girls teams played on Mondays and Wednesdays in June, wrapping up with a playoff night in the fourth week.

McNair said they kept the schedule flexible so any team could come in and get some work done, whether or not they signed up for the full league. 

“We’re open for teams to come in when they can,” she said. “Some teams can’t commit to the whole schedule but want to come in to get work in on specific dates. Whenever you want to come and just put in some work and play, get some reps, come on here.”

All teams are always welcome to join the summer league, but McNair said some teams outside of Volusia and Flagler counties could not travel twice a week all month, so she focused on getting local teams to participate.

“I think Mainland is the perfect place to do this,” she said. “We try to keep it growing, try to keep it down for the local people. Of course, outside teams are more than welcome, but I think the league is very, very important here, for local teams, to give these kids a chance to develop and have fun. That’s really what it’s for.”


FROM PLAYER TO COACH

After graduating from Mainland in 2011, McNair played basketball at Eastern Florida State College, Bishop State Community College in Alabama, and Concordia College Alabama. Throughout her basketball career, she said, she had been a point guard, but in college, she knew she needed to diversify.

“Once I got to college, I started expanding, because I didn’t like sitting on the bench, so it was either take a spot, learn a spot, or just hit the bench,” she said. “It was about becoming the toughest little thing on the court, and just taking in a learning session. It was really because, at that time, my parents couldn’t afford to come to my games, so I had to make sure I had something to tell every time I called after a game.”


BUILDING CONFIDENCE

This summer is not about the wins and losses; it is about building confidence, she said, and allowing the players to see what they need to work on.


That’s why my slogan is “Made from scratch.” Even if you’ve never played basketball, you can come here, and I will teach you.”
— ZYKIA MCNAIR, Mainland girls basketball coach

“This is where they practice,” she said. “If I know they used to just shoot and not drop into the basket, I’m OK with them driving to the basket all night. If I know that they’re not a shooter and they’d rather drive to the basket, I’m OK with them just being themselves and seeing what they can do to their full potential.” 

McNair has recruited two other Mainland alumnae who played basketball in college to be her assistant coaches and complement her emphasis on player development. Michella Green graduated from Mainland in 2016. She was a four-year starter on the basketball team and also played flag football. She played basketball at St. Thomas University, an NAIA school in Miami. Green coaches her sister, point guard Michiya Green, who is a rising junior for the Bucs.

Isys Grady wrapped up her second season coaching with McNair, this year. Grady graduated from Mainland in 2021 after playing basketball with Bucs for three seasons and also playing flag football. In her sophomore year, she transferred to DME Academy to hone her skills as a guard. She received a basketball scholarship to play for coach Trina Patterson at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. After three years, Grady transferred to Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania, under coach Chandler McCabe.

“I had a great experience,” Grady said. “I had some great coaches, Chandler McCabe and Trina Patterson, two women I definitely look up to. I thank them for the opportunity and for giving me the scholarship.”

On June 13-14, Grady competed in the Pro Dreams Combine, where she trained and was evaluated by scouts, agents and International Basketball Federation teams. Her goal is to play professional basketball internationally. Grady hopes her experiences show her players what is possible through the sport.

“I just want them to understand that if they put the work in, they can be wherever they want to be,” she said. “Though that’s my biggest thing, as a player, I pride myself on my work ethic, and I hope that’s something that the girls get from me. If they don’t get anything else, [they need to know] this orange basketball can take them very far beyond just playing. It opens so many other opportunities for them.”

McNair said she provides balance for her players by offering reassurance and reiterating the fact that she believes in them.

“This generation is different from us,” she said. “Yelling doesn’t work with them, so we can’t do that anymore, and I don’t sweet-talk them, because at the end of the day, if they get to the next level, sweet talk is not there. It’s hard, but you've got like 100 different ways to get them to see their potential, and I try all 100.”

Every summer, boys have always outnumbered girls at the basketball league. McNair is hoping to change that narrative.

“That’s why my slogan is “Made from scratch,” she said. “Even if you’ve never played basketball, you can come here, and I will teach you.”

 

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