In his first summer as head coach of the W.S. Neal Lady Eagle volleyball team, Jason Blaney said he could not be more proud of his 2013 team.
“I thought our summer went great,” Blaney said. “We had 100 percent turnout the entire time and the girls worked hard. We have done everything from back swims to burpees to jumping to work on our strength and to work on our conditioning so we can compete with the Millers and the Cottage Hills and Baysides in our area. Hopefully we will get there. We still have some time until the regular season starts and we have been getting at it since fall practice started on Monday, August 5.”
Blaney said his team came in for just a couple of days a week for two hours this summer to work out.
“We got gassed last year during some of our matches so my goal this year was to get them in shape and in condition so we can play every point with all we have got and go if we have to go five sets,” he said.
In his first year this season as the leader of the Lady Eagles of East Brewton, Blaney will be a one-man crew.
“For fall, for the first week and because I am also coaching the JV team, I am going to go in the morning first with the varsity and condition afterwards,” he said. “Then I will go with the JV team and condition early and then practice after. I will keep that same system the following week after. Then I will go in the afternoons with both JV and varsity once school starts. “I could not be more proud of the girls. With a new coach, I could not be more proud. They have adapted to my coaching style and held together. We did a few tournaments. I think some great things are to come for this season.”
W.S. Neal will begin their 2013 under first-year head coach Blaney on Thursday, Aug. 29, at Jay.
W.S. Neal’s 2013 volleyball roster will see 10 players on it with two seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen.
Jasmine Crook and Tiffany Sawyer will be the two seniors while Jodi Busby and Tykeria Nolan will be the junior players. Karissa Johnson, Emily Ann Cooper and Madison Winchester will be the three sophomores while Haleigh Dubose, Mee Mee Lawson and Dinah Samuel will be the three freshmen.