By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
LYFORD — Even the most seasoned coaches have had some struggles adjusting to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on this school and athletic year.
For Lyford’s new volleyball coach, Amy Cantu, the past few months have been a whirlwind.
The position is her first since graduating from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and she said this “new normal” wasn’t taught in class. But two weeks into Year 1 with Lyford’s volleyball program, Cantu said things are going well and that she has high hopes for the season.
“It has been an adjustment, of course. Straight out of college, jumping into the virtual teaching and virtual coaching, it’s been crazy. But I’m doing the best I can in my first year,” Cantu said. “When we announced that we were going to be able to come (to practice in-person), they were so excited. A lot of them showed up, we’ve had really high numbers. I’m seeing a lot of effort.”
With the UIL-mandated strength and conditioning week completed, Cantu and her staff are using this week to evaluate participants and will have teams set by Friday. Lyford graduated a good bit of talent, but Cantu said she has some experienced upperclassmen to lead the way and “a lot of girls coming from JV that are pushing themselves, striving to be on varsity.”
Cantu said seniors Clarisa Gonzalez, Haley Rodriguez and Hannah Garza, along with junior Alyssa Garcia, are some players she expects to be key pieces on the varsity roster. Junior setter Railey Rincones is another player to watch.
Gonzalez is a powerful outside hitter going into her third year on varsity. She said even with the adjustments that come from a new coach and dealing with safety protocols due to the coronavirus, the Lady Bulldogs are meshing well and they’re aiming to make the playoffs in their new District 31-3A.
“It feels so good to be back playing and to see all the girls,” Gonzalez said. “This will be the second time we got a new coach (while I’ve been in high school), but she’s doing really good. We lost a lot of people from last year… but so far our chemistry is really good and we’re working well with each other.”
Gonzalez said it has been hard at times to keep the distance between teammates — Cantu talked about an instance when the girls instinctively started to rush to a player after she got a good spike and the coach had to call out, “Girls, no! Social distance!” — but the Lady Bulldogs are still finding ways to have fun and keep their spirits up on the court.
Rincones, a two-year letterwinner, said the Lady Bulldogs have pretty much gotten used to the new tweaks in the practice routine, like sanitizing their hands and the balls between stations. Last year was Rincones’ first at Lyford, and as one of the few returning varsity players she feels ready to take on a leadership role and thinks good things are on the horizon for the squad.
“I was really excited to get back because it had been such a long time,” Rincones said. “I want us to come together as a team, be better communicating, more focused than last year. It’s feeling really good right now. I’m feeling really positive. I think this is going to be a good year for us.”