The big hand on a clock behind a steel cage ticks toward 3:20 p.m. Nine girls, all in black socks, gather just inside the door at Mista Kaulia’s Gym at Gaston High School. Maddy Anderson, the varsity volleyball coach at Gaston, steps through the double doors and surveys the gym. She looks at her watch and asks a few lingering football players to mosey on out.
“No P.D.A. please,” Anderson says.
Ahh, high school.
Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday that Anderson was set to take over as Gaston’s new head volleyball coach. Her goal: over time, change the team’s losing mindset and eventually get to the state playoffs.
Back in September, Anderson used words like “they” and “the team” to reference her newly inherited players. She answered every question about the upcoming season with a nervous laugh — like someone who knew too much.
Turns out she did.
Because now Anderson uses terms like “we” and “our team” and smiles at the same time. She smiles because those girls in black socks will play better. Their improvement s as unstoppable as tomorrow.
“It takes time with any coaching scenario to get used to expectations. You know, [things like] my coaching style and the girl’s playing style, but I think we have adjusted pretty well,” Anderson said on Monday as her team warmed up prior to one of its final practices of the season.
At 7-12, Gaston won’t be bragging. But the team has played well enough to grab six more wins than it did last season. And equaled the number of wins from the 2007 and 2008 seasons combined. And the Lady Greyhounds still have two matches left.
“Our serve-receive game has gotten so much better,” said senior Jessica Garner, who leads the team in both kills (123) and digs (239). “A definite improvement from last year.”
“We’ve gotten better at reading offenses, too,” chips in senior libero Brittany Steele.
For Anderson, the secret to her success is connecting with her new players. The team photo from Anderson’s 2008 junior varsity squad doesn’t look as much like a school-mandated team picture as it does a shot of 10 cousins at a family reunion with their favorite aunt. The picture has the team in a human pyramid, no less.
“This is my first year as a varsity [coach],” Anderson said. “It’s my third year coaching volleyball [at Gaston] and it’s going really well. I tell my girls I couldn’t pick a better team to start my career.”
This year’s varsity squad features only 11 players—five of whom , Breanne Steele, Cassie Fassold, Chelsea Felker, Garner and Brittany Steele, are seniors. At six players to a side, it’s challenging to produce game scenarios during practice since one side is always short a player. But it’s nothing to Anderson, who uses that built-in disadvantage to teach and coach her girls.
“The good part is the team that [is short a player] gets a lot of practice diving,” Britany Steele said.
A positive spin on a potentially frustrating situation. Just one more thing Anderson has brought to Gaston.
“Being a player down affects the way I structure practices,” Anderson said. “We don’t have a game scenario. I’ve got girls practicing next to girls that they don’t play next to in games. But at this point in the season, we have a lot of game experience and we know where our strengths and weaknesses are.”
One strength is their coach. And the way time is flying in Gaston, Anderson may have a playoff contender on her hands before she knows it.
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