Falkville looks for strong season under new coach

By Staff
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
The Falkville Lady Blue Devils will not only have new faces on its players this season, but they'll have a new face on the sideline as well.
Karen Wilemon, who was a co-coach with the teams that won the boys' Class 1A-4A indoor track titles in 2007, takes over this season as the head varsity volleyball coach. Wilemon last coached varsity six years ago and coached the junior high team in 2006. She takes over for Jeff Andrews, who coached the team from 2004-06.
"It's probably going to take me a while to get comfortable with it again," she said. "The girls know a lot and they've really helped me this week."
Falkville was area champion in 2006, advancing to the regional level before falling at the tournament in Addison. The Lady Blue Devils lose two seniors from that team, Laura Holladay and Emily Williams.
"It will be hard to replace both of those young ladies," Wilemon said. "They each played six years, but we've got some younger players who are really working hard to help fill that void."
The Lady Blue Devils have three seniors on this year's team, three juniors and two sophomores. The seniors are Alisha Sparkman, Jessica Saint and Lauren Estes; the juniors are Katie Annerton, Megan Hill and Paige McCarley and the sophomores are Myka McCarley and Haley Stinson.
Sparkman said the team wants to build off its area championship last season, and believes it has the leadership to do so.
"I think Jessica, Lauren and I play really well together," she said. "We've played with each other since we were really young and I think we have good chemistry and attitude. Right now we're just trying to work on uniting and playing more as a team."
Wilemon said that a lot of team's positions are still in the air, since she has only had a few weeks together with the team after being named the coach. Sparkman and Estes will primarily see action as back-row hitters, with Annerton and Paige McCarley leading the way as front-row hitters.
Stinson will be one of the team's setters, a role she held on the varsity as a freshman last season. As far as the team's libero, that's one position that Wilemon has yet to fill, primarily because of unfamiliarity with the new rule that was instituted two seasons ago.
"Back when I was coaching we didn't have the libero," she said. "I'm looking for somebody to put in that position, and we're going to use one, but I just don't know who it's going to be yet."
Wilemon said that one of the biggest positives for her in the first season as Falkville's coach has been the team's attitude.
"The three seniors have already impressed me as far as leadership," Wilemon said. "Everything's been upbeat. They always have a positive thing to say about anything or anyone."
Falkville's area schedule includes Tanner and West Morgan, while the remainder of the team's regular season is filled out with games against local schools like Danville and Priceville. Falkville's season opener is August 27 against Danville, a team that has advanced to the Class 3A Elite Eight each of the the past two seasons.
"We love playing games against tough competition," Sparkman said. "I think that's when we play our best. Our problem is that sometimes if we're facing a team that's not as good, then we'll play down to their level. We need to figure out how to keep our effort consistent no matter who we play.
"I always look forward to playing the teams like Danville and Priceville because those are the kind of tough games that help make our team better."
Wilemon admits it has been difficult to get to know her team after only a few weeks as Falkville's coach, but is impressed by the team's high confidence level and hopes that confidence will translate to wins on the floor as well.
"We really haven't sat down yet and talked about goals or anything like that," she said. "I know they're expecting great things and anticipating a good year. They feel very confident about this season, and having confidence is half the battle."