By By Matthew Nascone
After filling a team on Tuesday, Sarah Watkins got the Escambia County Lady Blue Devils volleyball team right into the action of practice Wednesday. Watkins said the Lady Blue Devils had a good first couple days of practice.
"They still have to get used to the rotation this year because it is different than what they had in the past," Watkins said. "But they are picking it up very fast and now they just need to remember it. We will be working on the rotation until we get it down and then we will move on to the fundamentals."
The schedule is right around the corner for ECHS, but Watkins said the girls should be ready by then.
"We have a good group of athletes who are willing to work hard and I know we will have a good season," she said. "We have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but everybody is ready to play."
As far as goals go, Watkins wants to win the region and make it to the playoffs.
"We definitely want to win the region, or finish runner up and make the playoffs," Watkins said. "Of course it is every coaches' goal to win in the playoffs and I am no different."
Watkins said she has never faced a lot of the teams on the Lady Blue Devils' schedule, but she has a way to prepare for them.
"I am going to prepare the girls for every team as if they were the best team ever and we will go from there," she said.
The Lady Devils are grouped in AHSAA Class 4A Area 1 with Jackson, Monroe County and Thomasville. The team's first match is a doubleheader scheduled for Aug. 23 in Thomasville against Thomasville and Sweetwater.
The Lady Blue Devils are, seniors Erin Taylor, Titieanna Jennings and Anushk'a Banks; juniors Raven Culliver, Bray Brown and Megan Hartley; sophomore Jocelyn Frye and freshmen Terri Wallace, Chelsea Gaffney, Crystal Kelley and Natoria Ford.