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11-06-2009, 10:24 AM
Junior-laden Wylie volleyball team exceeds expectations
By Daniel Youngblood
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/nov/05/no-headline---wylie_volleyball_feature-advan/
With the success the Wylie volleyball team has had the past two years, you might have a hard time convincing some that the Lady Bulldogs are in just their second season as a varsity program.
In fact, there are some days when even Wylie coach LeAnn Thomsen has trouble believing it.
But if you ask Thomsen, it’s nothing she’s done that has made her team so successful. That credit, instead, belongs to a seven-player junior class that has been by her side since Day 1 helping her build the program from ground up.
That class, which as eighth graders in 2006 was the first to play organized volleyball at Wylie, laid the foundation for Thomsen’s program and built on it.
“That junior class is kind of the core of our whole team,” Thomsen said. “They set the tone for practice, they set the tone for how we treat each other and how hard we work. They’re a very special group to us.”
While Wylie had six upperclassmen on last year’s team (24-18) and one senior on this year’s squad, which is 34-7 heading into area round match at 5 p.m. today against Andrews in Big Spring, the team’s juniors have done much of the leading the past two seasons because they’ve actually held an experience advantage on their older teammates.
In 2008, the Lady Bulldogs started five sophomores and the other two rotated in. Rhis year, those seven players, all juniors, are at the heart of everything the Lady Bulldogs do.
Bailey Wilson and Natalie Davis have provided Thomsen two outstanding outside hitters, Kelsey Browning, Storey Deshazo and Miranda Gillum make up Wylie’s starting back row, Allison Phillips is the team’s starting middle blocker and Ali Hayes has split time at setter with sophomore Bradi Wilson in Wylie’s 6-2 set.
But depth and talent are just two of the group’s good qualities, Browning said. It also is the driving force behind the team’s chemistry..
“We all are so close and that effects our playing,” she said. “It’s really shown in the way we push each other. Our motivation is the person next to us and that’s what keeps us going. That’s what really sets the tone and what’s gotten us so far.”
Having seven girls that have played together for so long has helped the team gel into a cohesive unit. The players have learned exactly what to expect from one another, which has limited the communication breakdowns one might expect to see from a fledgling program.
“We’ve practiced together for four years now, and four years of practice and games with the exact same team makes you really strong,” Hayes said. “We know how everyone else on the team does and we know what they can do.”
Playing together has become second nature to the girls, and is one of the biggest reasons the Lady Bulldogs were able to overcome a 1-3 start to finish the regular season with 33 wins in the final 37 matches and to go undefeated through District 2-3A. Those were two of many milestones for this group of girls. And though every first for a new program becomes a school record, the Wylie juniors have set the bar pretty high.
“It’s really exciting. I feel like we set an example for all the grades that are coming up behind us,” Gillum said. “It’s just a big accomplishment to be in our second year of varsity and already be district champs.”
But for all they’ve done, the journey for Wylie’s 2010 class is far from over. The Lady Bulldogs, who want their last “first” to be a state championship, still have this year’s playoffs to play before returning as seniors.
That’s an exciting proposition for Thomsen and scary one for opponents.
“I can’t (believe it), and neither can the rest of the coaches in our district. At our district meeting they were like, ‘OK, she’s got everybody back,’” Thomsen said. “There are several coaches who are probably a little jealous because most of my core group are juniors and I will have them back. But that’s not going to hold them back because they know they can get better. I know they’ll keep working hard.”
By Daniel Youngblood
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/nov/05/no-headline---wylie_volleyball_feature-advan/
With the success the Wylie volleyball team has had the past two years, you might have a hard time convincing some that the Lady Bulldogs are in just their second season as a varsity program.
In fact, there are some days when even Wylie coach LeAnn Thomsen has trouble believing it.
But if you ask Thomsen, it’s nothing she’s done that has made her team so successful. That credit, instead, belongs to a seven-player junior class that has been by her side since Day 1 helping her build the program from ground up.
That class, which as eighth graders in 2006 was the first to play organized volleyball at Wylie, laid the foundation for Thomsen’s program and built on it.
“That junior class is kind of the core of our whole team,” Thomsen said. “They set the tone for practice, they set the tone for how we treat each other and how hard we work. They’re a very special group to us.”
While Wylie had six upperclassmen on last year’s team (24-18) and one senior on this year’s squad, which is 34-7 heading into area round match at 5 p.m. today against Andrews in Big Spring, the team’s juniors have done much of the leading the past two seasons because they’ve actually held an experience advantage on their older teammates.
In 2008, the Lady Bulldogs started five sophomores and the other two rotated in. Rhis year, those seven players, all juniors, are at the heart of everything the Lady Bulldogs do.
Bailey Wilson and Natalie Davis have provided Thomsen two outstanding outside hitters, Kelsey Browning, Storey Deshazo and Miranda Gillum make up Wylie’s starting back row, Allison Phillips is the team’s starting middle blocker and Ali Hayes has split time at setter with sophomore Bradi Wilson in Wylie’s 6-2 set.
But depth and talent are just two of the group’s good qualities, Browning said. It also is the driving force behind the team’s chemistry..
“We all are so close and that effects our playing,” she said. “It’s really shown in the way we push each other. Our motivation is the person next to us and that’s what keeps us going. That’s what really sets the tone and what’s gotten us so far.”
Having seven girls that have played together for so long has helped the team gel into a cohesive unit. The players have learned exactly what to expect from one another, which has limited the communication breakdowns one might expect to see from a fledgling program.
“We’ve practiced together for four years now, and four years of practice and games with the exact same team makes you really strong,” Hayes said. “We know how everyone else on the team does and we know what they can do.”
Playing together has become second nature to the girls, and is one of the biggest reasons the Lady Bulldogs were able to overcome a 1-3 start to finish the regular season with 33 wins in the final 37 matches and to go undefeated through District 2-3A. Those were two of many milestones for this group of girls. And though every first for a new program becomes a school record, the Wylie juniors have set the bar pretty high.
“It’s really exciting. I feel like we set an example for all the grades that are coming up behind us,” Gillum said. “It’s just a big accomplishment to be in our second year of varsity and already be district champs.”
But for all they’ve done, the journey for Wylie’s 2010 class is far from over. The Lady Bulldogs, who want their last “first” to be a state championship, still have this year’s playoffs to play before returning as seniors.
That’s an exciting proposition for Thomsen and scary one for opponents.
“I can’t (believe it), and neither can the rest of the coaches in our district. At our district meeting they were like, ‘OK, she’s got everybody back,’” Thomsen said. “There are several coaches who are probably a little jealous because most of my core group are juniors and I will have them back. But that’s not going to hold them back because they know they can get better. I know they’ll keep working hard.”