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So
good, so fast - Jaguars avoiding first year struggles
by
Jason Stone
DVUSD - Playing high school sports is supposed to be fun,
and Boulder Creek boys volleyball coach Chad Speer knows his
team likes to have a good time. But sometimes the 30 year
old coach has to make sure things don't get out of control.
"Sometimes I have to make sure we don't have too much
fun," Speer said. "We need to be a little serious
sometimes."
Then again, who needs to be serious when winning is so much
fun? In only their first year as a team, the Jaguars have
been defying the odds by proving they can play with some of
the state's best teams. |
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Despite
having no seniors on the roster, Boulder Creek (15 7 overall entering
the week) has played toe to toe with some of the best 5A Division
II teams and is even talking about winning the state championship.
State championship?
Most first year varsity teams would be ecstatic about a winning
record. But Speer, who sparked the boys program at Goldwater earlier
this decade, is setting the bar high at Boulder Creek as well.
With at least 13 matches to go before the Northwest Region Tournament,
the Jaguars are a sure bet to win 20 matches and possibly earn a
top seed at the 5A II State Tournament in May.
In late March, Boulder Creek took fifth place at the Mountain View
Invitational at Marana High School, the site of the final two rounds
of the 5A State Tournament. Speer told his team to get used to the
surroundings.
"That could be the place we're coming back to," Speer
said. "I think we'll be ready."
Getting the Jaguars ready for varsity play itself has been easier
than most would assume. Speer, who also heads up the Arizona Fear
club team, encouraged most of his athletes to play for both teams.
The extra practice paid off immediately last season when Speer,
the original coach for the boys team at Goldwater from 2002 2004,
led the Jaguars to a 15 3 mark in their first year at junior varsity.
After another season of club ball, Boulder Creek came out ready
to explode on the varsity scene.
"We are just practicing at a higher level," said sophomore
setter Mason Maki, whose emergence as a top flight setter is one
of the main reasons the Jaguars have started so hot. "The opportunity
to win a state championship is pretty amazing."
Even more amazing is the fact that Speer originally thought his
team was a year away from competing. With no seniors, all but foreign
exchange junior Christian Puszie will be back next year, meaning
Speer is building the team for the future as well as this season.
"Not to speak ahead of time, but we can be scary good over
the next few years," Speer said.
Maki's eyes get big at Speer's comments and he puts it more succinctly:
"We're just going to dominate next year." Speer said Maki's
development makes that possible.
"He's a stud and he's only a sophomore," Speer said. "The
sky's the limit for him."
Puszie, an exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, has given the
Jaguars a 6 foot 5 presence in the middle, 6 foot 1 Jay Alicandro
has been providing offense from the left side and sophomore outside
hitter Kyle Norton has "really turned it on," Speer said.
"The light bulb kind of went on for him," Speer said about
Norton.
Perhaps the spotlight of a state championship could be shining on
all the Jaguars sometime soon. |
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