The last three years, Shady Spring has ended the season playing for the state volleyball championship.
When the season tips off this September, the Tigers will once again be a favorite to make a run at the Class AA crown.
Even though many already have Shady Spring penciled in for championship Saturday, the road will not be an easy one to get back to the title match.
“We have a lot of things to work on,” Shady Spring head coach Kelly Williams said. “We have a very young team. We lost three seniors and they were starters for years, so we definitely have some holes that we have to fill. We do have a great freshman class coming in and we have some juniors and a couple sophomores that will be strong players.”
“It is going to be a challenge this year,” Williams went on to say. “Losing (first team all-stater) Kelsie (Dangerfield) as a setter was huge. Hopefully we have a couple of girls willing to step up and try that position. It is not going to be easy and it will be a lot of work. We don’t take getting to the championship game for granted. We have to be ready for every aspect of the game. We know how hard it is and the competition is shooting for us too.”
Like many teams around the state, Shady Spring is currently taking advantage of the three-week summer practice period permitted by the WVSSAC to get a jump-start on the season.
“Last week we just did conditioning. This week we actually got in the gym because they were doing the floors at the school (last week),” Williams said. “This is our first time touching any balls, but it looks promising. We are a little rusty, but we are just glad to be back in there and getting back into the swing of things.”
With so many new faces, it should come as no surprise where the early focus will be for Williams’ girls.
“Right now we are doing a lot of team bonding. We tie-dyed last week and we are just trying to get them in there and communicating with each other,” Williams said. “We want to get them familiar with each other so when we come back in August it is not a meet and greet. We want to be past that and get ready to work.”
The strength of the Shady Spring teams over the years has been rooted in chemistry and communication.
“Maybe it is just the teacher in me, but to me, the communication on the floor is crucial. Even the best teams break down with communication at some point,” Williams said. “We try to instill that in the girls early. One person cannot win a game, it takes a team for sure. We have learned that the easy way and the hard way.”
The chemistry side of the equation could see some growing pains along the way.
“My goal is to be back in that championship game, but we have to take it one day at a time and one game at a time this year. We will see how it goes,” Williams said. “That is another reason we are starting with team bonding. These seniors have never played with these young girls. Some of the freshman may see the varsity floor, so they have to learn to work together fast.”
Making the trip back to the title game even tougher this year is the fact that several teams will be in the mix for a championship run.
Defending state champion Philip Barbour, Oak Glen, Herbert Hoover and Winfield are just a few that return strong teams.
“I feel like the girls are up for a challenge. They seem like they are in it to win it and hopefully it stays that way. We have different challenges than what they have had in the past,” Williams said. “The younger girls have had a great start to their volleyball futures so far. I am just not sure if they realize these tournaments that we play and the teams we play, it is not to win them all, it is get them that experience for the high pressure games later in the year.”
Shady Spring will open the season Aug. 27 when it hosts a quad with Class AAA foes George Washington, Cabell Midland and Huntington.
