Story by John Bechtle
A standout player both in high school at Clear Creek and then in college, Clear Brook High School volleyball coach Meredith Thompson isn’t interested in rebuilding anything. She simply isn’t a mechanic.
Yet as the 2008 varsity season progresses, Thompson may find herself frequently fixing the Lady Wolverines’ player rotation.
Blessed with plenty of club volleyball talent and a handful of legitimate Division I collegiate level players during her first three seasons on the job, Thompson guided Clear Brook to the playoffs each season. To accomplish that same feat in 2008 will require some work.
Neither Thompson nor her players will concede anything, but the program is undergoing change. Just three players are back from the 2007 season. Seniors April Grabowski and Keely Sikes got their share of playing time, and junior Samantha Bentley also played quite a bit.
A fourth player, sophomore Alicia Dittrich, was moved to the varsity team for the final week of the district regular season and playoffs. She should be able to help out quite a bit up front.
That’s as far as it goes as Thompson hunts for varsity experience while preparing to enter a strong District 24-5A alignment. Even though volleyball power Pearland has been excluded from the ranks thanks to the latest University Interscholastic League realignment, the road to the playoffs is bumpy.
The league will include Region III power Clear Creek, an always-tough Clear Lake team and Dickinson, which made a name for itself in the Class 4A ranks before ascending to 5A this school year.
Those three teams have been successful at making the playoffs on a regular basis in the 2000s. If the same scenario plays out in 2008, that would leave just one remaining playoff berth.
Last season Clear Brook struggled down the stretch yet managed to get the fourth and final spot. This time around, the Lady Wolverines will have to fend off newcomer Clear Springs, Alvin, Brazoswood and Galveston Ball in the hunt. Of those four, Clear Springs is the unknown, having joined both the Class 5A and varsity levels for the first time this season.
“I still have high hopes for this program, and making the playoffs at the varsity level is something we certainly expect to do each season.”
Yet as the preseason portion of the schedule plays out, Thompson may find herself in the midst of several tough decisions. Should she reward several seniors who have poured their hearts and souls into the program over the previous three seasons and have thus earned a varsity shot at last?
Or does Thompson elevate younger players who perhaps more time, as as well as potential, on their side? Time will tell.
When workouts began Aug. 4, she welcomed nine seniors. Six of those players were on the junior varsity team last season.
A seventh, setter Alex Cassel, played at Clear Brook as a sophomore before transferring to Bay Area Christian School for 2007. Cassel’s return could help the team both at setter and hitter.
As for the other six seniors, there is certainly a chance that one or more of those players won’t make the cut.
“We do have nine seniors trying out, but as a coach you also have to focus on the growth of some of the younger players when you have a season where rebuilding might be in order,” Thompson said. “I don’t like to think of this as a rebuilding year. No matter which six players we put on the court to start a match, I’m always going to expect us to be successful. We will never go into a season without the thought of making the playoffs.”
“Right now, I’m just trying to find the right combinations,” Thompson said. “We also have to find out just where each individual player fits best. April Grabowski has experience at blocker but can also hit. Samantha Bentley can hit and play at blocker some, too. Alex is a setter, but she can hit, too.”
The Lady Wolverines may not possess a glittering predistrict record when the 24-5A race arrives. That’s OK, as long as the team is in the hunt when the playoffs come calling.
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