PLEASANT HILL – Building a successful volleyball program is never easy. You have to install a system and build a culture. Every great program has to establish a sense of continuity that brings good players into the mix every year.
Two area high schools – Springfield and Thurston – are taking on that challenge this season with new coaches. Springfield’s Andrea Barrera and Thurston’s Kayla Devereaux have coached extensively at the club level, but this is the first high school job for both.
So far, they’ve been more than up for that challenge. Getting a first look at their young rosters in the 2nd annual North Star Volleyball Jamboree was a great way to get a gauge on how their teams stack up in the early going.
Barrera knows all about the Class 5A Midwestern League – she played for the crosstown rival Colts, graduating in 2021.
“I definitely think there’s gonna be a building here. The mental side of it is my main focus gameplay,” Barrera said. “They’re all individually skilled girls. They all come with a lot of skills. So I’m just here to grow their mental aspects, and then hopefully we can build together as a team that eventually becomes a winning season. If not, that’s OK, but they’re happy with how they’re going out.”
Andrea Barrera takes over a program that has had a losing season since 2003. Although she knows the results will require work, she remains optimistic that fostering mental development first will help. PHOTOS BY CRAIG STROBECK & BOB WILLIAMS
Springfield came up short in all four of its matches Thursday. So yes, some construction needs to take place.
Still, Barrera saw plenty of silver linings.
“We only have four returners, yeah, and a bunch of new people,” Barrera said. “It’s kind of building that relationship and trust with each other.”
The North Star Jamboree offers the perfect stage to get a taste of what the season has to offer.
“It’s definitely a good jamboree. … We did not expect this. Yeah, the tough part is playing back-to-back games. But I think the girls thrive on that kind of being just thrown into games. Putting out their skills is their best challenge that they’re showing right now. But I think the jamboree is nice, it’s well organized, and everyone here is great.”
Barrera measured the Millers’ success by looking at the bigger picture.
“Wow. It’s definitely been different. A lot more fast-paced,” Barrera said. “I focus more on mental growth for this kind of nature. Skill comes with it, but mentally, I want to make sure that the girls are there, they’re succeeding with their self-esteem and all that stuff. So that’s my main focus for now.
“I’m hoping for a group that is mentally tough. I hope that winning comes with it, but I hope that we successfully are happy with ourselves and happy with the way that we get out there. If we win, that’s always a plus, but if we lose, we just always have a good attitude about it, and we’re proud of everything that we put into that game.”
Both new coaches were emphasizing mental fortitude.
“It was very exciting,” said Devereaux, whose Colts split their four sets last Thursday. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work the last two weeks on mental toughness and team building. Coming off last season, they were feeling a little disappointed with their won-loss ratio, so our goal this season is to have a winning one.”
Kayla Devereaux takes the helm after the Colts had their first losing season since 2017. PHOTOS BY CRAIG STROBECK & BOB WILLIAMS
It might take some time to build an all-star program. But that won’t stop the Colts from winning now, said Devereaux, who coached club volleyball in Creswell for seven years.
“We’re going to be competitive, for sure,” Devereaux said. “We have a really good core of returning girls and I’m excited about the season. We’re going to do some really good things.”
All those years of club coaching allowed Devereaux to coach against, well, basically an entire community of young local players as they developed their game.
“I love how we get to play all of the other local teams in our area,” she said. “Having coached at Creswell for several years, I have connections to a lot of the other girls, so it’s really cool to see how they’ve all developed.”
