By By Chandler Myers
The Lady Cougars of Canoe have begun preparing for battle as the 2009 volleyball season is just more than two weeks away.
Escambia Academy started practice Tuesday afternoon after the second day of school let out with 15 girls taking the floor for workouts.
Lady Cougars head coach Keri Payne said she and her team have been ready to get practices and games out of the way.
This season’s squad will get a boost in leadership from senior Jordan Jaye who transferred back to the Academy after spending last season on the ECHS volleyball and basketball teams.
Payne said the addition of Jaye gives the team something extra since she left as one of the team’s premiere players last year.
This year’s team will have more depth than last year’s because the Academy, like other AISA schools, will not field a junior varsity team.
Payne said the depth should provide her team with a lot of rest as well as getting other players game experience.
The team is comprised of two seniors, five juniors, three sophomores, two freshmen and three eighth graders.
The seniors and juniors should provide the leadership and spark needed to be competitive in games, according to Payne.
She said she is expecting good things from all of her players, and added that the older players should help guide the younger ones.
The Lady Cougars first game is Aug. 27 with a trip to Lighthouse Christian Academy in Montgomery. The rest of the Lady Cougars schedule is still being prepared.
The roster for the Lady Cougars is as follows: