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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Estancia Has Season's First Practice

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
          Estancia High volleyball coach Glenda Noblitt must have put in more than a little time in preparation for the Lady Bears' first official practice on Monday.
        Noblitt, who begins her fourth straight and seventh nonconsecutive year at the EHS helm, had the girls hopping in the Bears' gym for nearly four hours. Sandwiched between drills and sprints were some rather thought-provoking school-circle sessions.
        Noblitt handed a little, red ball to a player and told her, "This is a Humpty Dumpty. Now, I want you pass to it the next person, and you tell them the same thing: 'This is a Humpty Dumpty.' And then, I want them to respond, 'Ohhh, this is a Humpty Dumpty.' As you pass it around, I want you all to be thinking about why this is important."
        Another object was handed to the group: "This is a lickety-split." Same thing.
        Noblitt told the players to notice how they sounded when they were explaining to their teammate what the object was, to be aware of how their voices sounded in trying to get the next person to clearly understand.
        "You don't say, 'Get over there. Your position is over there,'" she said with feigned contempt. "And when you get it, you tell the person you got it, that you understand: 'Ohhh, this is a Humpty Dumpty.' And make eye contact."
        The Bears seemed to appreciate the effort Noblitt, and her fifth-year assistant, Alicia Pope, put into it.
        "She's just teaching us what we need to do to play better," said Victoria Barner, a 5-foot-8 senior outside hitter. "We need to communicate, and we all need to be good ballhandlers.
        "This is the year for us," Barner continued. "This is the year to do it."
        Estancia was the District 8-2A tournament champion in 2007 and concluded the season with a record of 15-9, 4-0. The Bears advanced to the state semifinals.
        "I'm pumped about the season," said Kaiya Coburn, a 5-6 senior outside hitter. "And I'm feeling good and healthy, knock on wood."
        The Bears open the season at Santa Rosa on Aug. 28. Their first home match is on Sept. 18 against Capitan.
        "This team is stronger than last year, I would say," said Noblitt, also a third-grade teacher at Estancia Elementary. "We have a lot of good athletes. We should be better this year. We'll need a lot out of our middle (including from senior Sharalynn Barela, back after being injured last year)."
        Other varsity returners include Haley Coburn, Ashley Durant, Megan Johnson, Robin Jones, Desirae Ortiz and Erin Thomas. Ashley Lopez moved up from junior varsity.
        Jones is the probable libero. Durant and Johnson are the setters.
        "We'll continue to work a lot on communication and teamwork," Noblitt said.
        Mountainair
        The Lady Mustangs, the reigning District 7-1A tournament champions, have six returning seniors. But Mountainair lost its all-star, Shanlyn Hazen, to graduation.
        "We're going to miss Shanlyn," sixth-year Mustangs coach Sheldon Roberts said. "She was the glue to our team. But Shayna (Padilla) is a good leader. She was one of my captains last year. She's a leader, more vocal. Shanlyn led by example. She hustled. But now, with Shayna and the other seniors, I think we'll be all right."
        The 'Stangs were 19-5, 7-1 in district and beat rival Carrizozo 3-1 in the district finals at the Grizzlies' gym. Mountainair, which from Sept. 21 through Oct. 18 put together a nine-match winning streak, fell in the first round of the state tourney to Quemado, a team it split with during the regular season.
        The 2008 Mountainair seniors include Alysha Archuleta (outside hitter), Elena Chavez (outside hitter), Blanka Rodriquez (defensive specialist), Simone Roybal (defensive specialist), Krystal Sheppard (middle hitter) and Padilla (setter). Junior Brooke Roybal, possibly a libero, is a key returner.