Gaylesville's Adriana Valencia, right, tries to put a ball away against defender Claire Storey at volleyball practice on Tuesday. Photo by Shannon Fagan.
Gaylesville's Adriana Valencia, right, tries to put a ball away against defender Claire Storey at volleyball practice on Tuesday. Photo by Shannon Fagan.
Gaylesville's Adriana Valencia, right, tries to put a ball away against defender Claire Storey at volleyball practice on Tuesday. Photo by Shannon Fagan.
Gaylesville assistant volleyball coach Brantley Hays gives instruction at the Lady Trojans' volleyball practice on Tuesday. Photo by Shannon Fagan.
GAYLESVILLE – With all the administrative duties Gaylesville principal and volleyball coach Scott Hays has, heÐÔÊӽ紫ý had to find the right people to assist him.
The last two years, heÐÔÊӽ紫ý had his son Caleb to help him, but now Caleb has taken a job at Centre Elementary School and is an assistant coach with the Warrior varsity football team.
Exit one son, and enter another.
Hays’ youngest son, Brantley, is helping his dad running practices this year. Joining them is former Lady Trojan all-around athlete Lauren Hammett and new Gaylesville teacher Brian Young, who has church volleyball experience.
“Hopefully that takes me out of the picture a little,†Scott Hays joked. “But, I’m still the coach on paper and I’ll be there at the games.â€
The coaches have a young team in which to work with this season. The Lady Trojans have no seniors. The two most experienced players are junior setter Haley Bryson and junior libero Madison Grace.
Scott Hays said the duo has taken on the leadership roles of the team.
“They have taken the lead, making sure folks are at practice, doing what they need to be doing,†Scott Hays said. “That aspect is really good. Haley was our setter last year. Her and Lauren kind of swapped out setting a little bit, but she knows the role.â€
Two freshmen will be the Lady Trojans’ go-to hitters: Adriana Valencia and Kambre Reed. Scott Hays said after those two, things kind of level off.
“But, I don’t think thereÐÔÊӽ紫ý anybody who won’t play,†he said. “Everybody can play. We’ve just got some who are more suited for the front row and others for the back row. We’ll figure that out as we go.â€
Sophomores are Abby Bryson and Savannah Coker. Haylee Brewster is another freshman on varsity. Eighth graders Chelsey Cagle and Malaya Shireman round out the squad.
To help prepare for the season, Scott Hays said the Lady Trojans had a play date against seven teams at Fairview High School. The team also welcomed Shorter University volleyball coach Jon Moseley and his graduate assistant Anna Graham for a two-day team camp.
“That brought them a long way in just a couple of days,†Scott Hays said of MoseleyÐÔÊӽ紫ý camp. “That taught them some skills and drills that we’ve also been able to take and help with our coaching.
“He (Moseley) used a quote he attributed to (former San Francisco 49er coach) Bill Walsh that I’ve used a couple of times since then: ‘Great teams act like great teams before they become great teams.’ ThatÐÔÊӽ紫ý where we are. Our girls are willing to learn. They want to be good, and when you want to be good, you strive to do better. We’re real young, but they’re hungry. Hopefully they’ll get there.â€
The Lady Trojans compete in Class 1A, Area 14 with Cedar Bluff and Spring Garden. Gaylesville opens the season on Aug. 29 at home against Coosa Christian.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.