One could not necessarily look at the 2009 Saint Thomas More Preparatory fall sports season and classify it as a down year, but the players and coaches certainly hoped for different results.
There was not a single state tournament appearance for any of the bracketed playoffs for the Ravens, something the teams are looking to reverse as the 2010 season is set to kick off.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
2009 record: 10-7, 2-4
State tournament: Failed to appear
Graduated seniors: 1
Opening game of 2010: 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at Campus Community High School
Even though Brian Lessard, head coach of the Saint Thomas More girls volleyball team, is returning all but one player to his squad this season, he takes an interesting perspective on his group of girls.
Instead of seeing his crop of players as a group of returners with experience, Lessard said he has wiped the slate clean from 2009 and is starting anew with the 2010 Ravens.
“Every year you look at your players with a new start,” he said. “Nobody is guaranteed positions. Each year your team has a different make up. So I look at spots where girls have improved and mix them up a lot.”
Lessard’s team was able to finish above .500 in 2009, but still fell short of the tournament.
The coach said, however, that last season was not something to be bitter about. He instead insisted that it be motivation to push even harder this year.
“I think they can accomplish whatever they put their minds to,” Lessard said.
In prepping for the season, he said he’s still trying different girls in different spots on the court, adding that he’s seen improvement with each passing day.
Couple that with the fact that the Ravens got the opportunity to play in a few scrimmages against some tough upstate teams, and Lessard said they’re right on track for a good season.
“When you’re in a great play day and there’s great competition, to play well really can set a tone,” he said.
FIELD HOCKEY
2009 record: 10-4-1, 6-3-1
State tournament: Failed to appear
Graduated seniors: 3
Opening game of 2010: 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at Campus Community High School
It’s been an up-and-down couple of years since Debbie Windett took over as head coach of the Saint Thomas More field hockey program, but if the pattern suggests anything, it’s that the Ravens are in for a special season.
Windett, who is coming into her fourth year as Ravens head coach, sandwiched one tournament appearance in the middle of three years, meaning if the trend continues her squad is playoff bound again this year.
And with eight seniors on this year’s squad, things are setting up nicely, she said.
To get to that point, however, Windett said her group would need to take care of its own business in the regular season, something it was unable to do a year ago.
Despite finishing with a winning record, the Ravens’ strength of schedule hurt them and kept them from earning a tournament berth.
“You win enough games and you get in,” she said. “You have to take care of yourself. If you win your games, then there’s no worrying about strength of schedule.”
Windett and her assistant coach still are experimenting with who is going to play where, but with a crop of two- and three-sport athletes on her roster, that process is made much easier.
“We are blessed with speed,” she said. “When us coaches get together at the school we always talk about the same thing, and that’s just that it’s a really special group of athletes going through Saint Thomas More right now.”
BOYS SOCCER
2009 record: 5-9-1, 4-2
State tournament: Failed to appear
Graduated seniors: 2
Opening game of 2010: 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at Campus Community High School
While some teams in high school sports enter a new season with just a bit of roster turnover, there are more rarely cases of an extreme amount of turnover.
But rarely does the scale tip the other way and give a head coach the luxury of returning most of their players from the year before.
That, however, is the situation Head Coach Josh Katz of the Saint Thomas More boys soccer team finds himself in as his team is set to feature a senior class of 10 this year.
The Ravens also had close to 30 kids come out this year, meaning they should be able to field a JV team, which is a first for the program.
But it’s the senior class that Katz said has everyone around the program abuzz.
“They’re excited because most of the starting lineup will be seniors and this is their last push,” he said. “To make the tournament and win the conference are both the goals they have.”
Katz said his players have recognized the potential to do something special this year, so much so that a large group of them worked out all summer together.
Add that together with the players’ knowledge of Katz’s coaching style in his second year on the job and the preseason is going smoothly, he said.
But while conditioning and expectations are both right in line with what he wants them to be, Katz said it’s an intangible that has him thinking this fall will be special for the Ravens.
“It’s the cohesiveness of this team,” he said. “They get along very well. There’re no cliques and the chemistry is great. Our strongpoint is how we get along together.”
CROSS COUNTRY
State tournament: Boys finished No. 23 in Division II; Girls finished No. 15 in Division II
Graduated seniors: 4 boys and 6 girls
Opening meet of 2010: 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Lake Forest Invitational, held at Killens Pond State Park, Felton
Eric Payne, head coach of the Saint Thomas More boys and girls cross country teams, likes to keep things simple when preparing his runners for the season.
That does not necessarily mean the practices or workouts are simple, but in setting goals on what to accomplish this fall, Payne’s plans are basic.
The Ravens, who feature eight runners on each team, are both striving to finish above .500 this year, he said.
And to get there, Payne added, he’s going to need some newcomers to step in and step up this year.
“I’ve got a young team for both the boys and girls,” he said. “Right now, basically I’m just trying to get a lot of long miles in and get in our base. Some of them have never run before, so I’m teaching them how to run cross-country. Then we’ll start working on speed.”
The long preseason has benefited Payne and his runners this year since there are so many inexperienced kids on the team, and the coach said he’s glad he’s had more time to teach them what they need to know.
“They need to learn how to push themselves during practice,” he said. “Every practice you want to push yourself a little harder.”
Email Brian Citino at brian.citino@doverpost.com.
