CHESAPEAKE - After an all-star season, Amy Hughes is making the rounds as an all-star coach.

Hughes, who guided the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers to their best record in school history and their second berth in the state tournament, coached in the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game two months ago.

Now she is the head coach directing the Ohio All-Stars in the annual Ohio-West Virginia All-Star Series to be played Friday at Chesapeake and Saturday at West Virginia State in Cross Lanes.

"It was an honor to be an assistant for the Ohio-Kentucky game, and it's a bigger honor to be head coach for the Ohio-West Virginia game," Hughes said.

"It's really not an honor I receive by myself. There are a lot of people who have helped me along the way, and one reason I'm here is the success we have had at Ironton and going to the state tournament."

Hughes said coaching an all-star game is different than coaching in a regular season or tournament game.

'The key is to have fun," Hughes said. "We'll try to fastbreak and play man-to-man defense. These games are a lot of one-on-one play and they get up and down the floor, so you try not to overcoach."

Hughes is familiar with all-star games from her playing days. The former first team All-Ohio guard played in the NIKE All-American game which is now sponsored by McDonald's.

She said drawing from her memories helps her understand what this all-star series means to the players.

"You try to let them enjoy the weekend and meet new people," Hughes said.

Although the players understand Hughes will try to balance the playing time, they still want to win. Hughes said the competitive juices of the players will come into play while she coaches the game.

"Everyone needs equal playing time, but we still like to win," Hughes said. "You don't compete to come in second place. These players are competitors. They wouldn't be here if they weren't competitive people. They want to win."

The girls' game tip-off is 6 p.m.