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NORTH ATTLEBORO - Wood, a sixth-grader at Foxboro Regional Charter School, made the varsity team this season after displaying outsized talent in youth leagues competing against kids her own age. She started in her third game, scoring 9 points and tallying the opening score with a three-pointer.

Last Wednesday, she sank two late free throws to give 4-0 Foxboro Regional the victory over the Academy of the Pacific Rim.

"I really like shooting," said the slender, 5-foot-6 point and shooting guard, who added that her favorite thing about basketball is being part of a team. "We all have to work together."

Julia, who also plays AAU basketball, comes from solid hardcourt stock.

Her father, Tom, was a scholarship basketball player at Springfield College and worked as a strength coach at the University of Connecticut. Her mom, Robin, was a hall of famer at Stoughton High and serves as assistant coach on her daughter's squad. "Julia fit in right from day one," said her high school team's head coach, Bob Hickey.

He said the 11-year-old possesses excellent ball-handling skills and is extremely coachable.

The 13-member team also has another young prospect, sixth-grader Courtney Williams.

Wood has attended a number of basketball camps and devours books and articles about female players such as her idol, WNBA player Sue Bird. In fact, Wood played on an AAU team that won the state 10-and-under championship.

But the North Attleboro youngster is hardly a one-trick pony. She's an A student, has participated in soccer and softball and is working out with a youth track and field team. She's also looking forward to playing lacrosse.

To add to her busy schedule, she also takes piano lessons and is an altar server at her church.

"I don't like to do just one thing," she said.

The Foxboro Regional Charter School is a member of the Massachusetts Charter School Athletic Organization, and many of its opponents are small schools in the Boston area.

Some lack their own gymnasiums. Nevertheless, the league has its share of highly skilled players, even if competition is somewhat less intense than at larger schools in the neighboring Hockomock and Old Colony leagues.

For a young player like Julia, stepping up to the high school level is a challenge - and a rare opportunity. "The competition is a far cry from what she'd have with the younger kids," Hickey said. "Julia plays up to it."

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.