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Volleyball: New coach, young team ready to hit the court

Posted 8/25/21

The Falcon volleyball squad returns to the court next Tuesday, Aug. 31, with an away game against Arizona College Prep at 6 p.m. Play continues on the road that Thursday, Sept. 2, with a 6:30 p.m. …

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Volleyball: New coach, young team ready to hit the court

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The Falcon volleyball squad returns to the court next Tuesday, Aug. 31, with an away game against Arizona College Prep at 6 p.m. Play continues on the road that Thursday, Sept. 2, with a 6:30 p.m. showdown against Payson. Making for a busy first week, that Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4, the Falcons are scheduled to play in the Estrella Foothills High School Wolves Classic Volleyball Tournament.

Heading up the team this season will be Olivia Long, making this her first year as a local teacher and coach.

Long grew up in Payson, with her education continuing at Easter Arizona College and Northern Arizona University. She played for Payson High School and the Payson club team for four years, but has been involved with volleyball for since seventh grade. She now teaches several subjects at Fountain Hills High School.

When it comes role with the team, Long said she’s not the type of coach to yell or break clipboards in frustration.

“I think I’m a fair coach,” Long said. “I hope I’m motivating them to do better. I’m more focused on the well-roundedness of their character and them as an athlete rather than how hard they can hit the ball.”

Long said the Falcon roster is comprised of a lot of young athletes this season, so she’s focusing on development in the coming months.

“We have a couple of seniors and juniors, but the majority of our players are sophomores and we have a freshman team of about eight girls,” she added. “So, we’re a really young team.”

Like with every team across the state last year, Long said the Falcons had a short season where development was difficult due to all of the added challenges brought on by the pandemic. Combine that with the young roster and she said 2021 is expected to be a building year.

Despite that fact, she expects big things from returning players.

“We’re glad to have our seniors returning, and we also have some standout sophomores,” Long said. “Bella Garman is one of our setters this year and she’s an awesome all-around player with a great swing and killer serve.

“Sophie Wickland is our outside hitter and she’s also pretty dominant in the front row. And then Sydney Boeshans, in the back row, has some great passes and another killer serve.”

With the season kicking off next week, Long said she’s looking forward to watching the team learn and grow over the coming months.

“We weren’t able to play in summer games, so we had open gym the week before school started and tryouts immediately after,” Long continued. “Our pre-season was pretty non-existent, so we’re having to work pretty hard to make up for that time.

“We are viewing this as a really good developmental season. If we have a winning season, I will consider that successful. But we want to lay down strong foundations so that next year and the year after, our players can be really dominant and hopefully make a run for a state championship.”

Taking things one step at a time, Long said she expects next week’s season opener against Arizona College Prep to be a well-matched competition.

“Payson is our second opponent of the season, and we’d love to beat them,” Long added with a smile, noting the long-running friendly rivalry between FHHS and her alma mater. “We’d love to walk into their gym and then walk away with the win.”

Looking ahead, Long said her squad appreciates the support of the fans and aim to give them an entertaining season to watch.

“We had eight seniors graduate last year, and that can take away a big chunk of the fanbase when all those girls graduate,” she added. “The more support we can get, and the more people we can have cheering them on, the better. I know it will get the girls pumped up and we’re just looking forward to a fun season while hoping it’s a full season.”