Cougars, Huskies entering fall with new coaches

Things will look a little different this fall within the Hewitt-Trussville and Clay-Chalkville High school volleyball programs.

Both programs have a new head coach. Jackie Cox replaces Katie Riggins at Hewitt-Trussville after Riggins led the Huskies program for 26 years. Allison Bright is now in charge at Clay-Chalkville, taking over for Natasha Brown, who cultivated a successful program over the last several seasons.

Cox was an assistant at Hewitt-Trussville last fall and Bright coached at the middle school, so both come into their new roles with a sense of familiarity.

Bright will be looking to maintain at Clay-Chalkville, while Cox is attempting to build the Huskies program.

“I think it’s going to be a good year because we have the same girls,” said Bright, in reference to the fact that the Cougars only graduated two players from last year’s team. “They can all hit and they can do what they do. I am blessed to walk into this situation.”

The Cougars have four seniors in Sheliah Harris, Rachel Smith, Byronni Tubbs and Molly Evans. Tubbs said communication and hard work are two keys to success this fall, while Smith said the team has a tight bond. Harris and Bright mentioned the familiar faces back for another run.

“They believe they can do it,” Bright said. “They know they’re the same team from last year, they have not changed.”

In the month of September, Clay-Chalkville plays Gardendale, Shades Valley, Center Point, Briarwood, Minor, Ramsay, Oxford, Springville and Pinson Valley, along with playing in the HeffStrong Tournament at Spain Park.

Hewitt-Trussville also has four seniors tasked with leading the program into a new era, as Ashley McDaniel, Izzy Vidales, Mycah Moultrie and Trenady Lockett will aim to make the most of their final seasons.

“Leadership wise, there’s a little bit more pressure,” Vidales conceded. “We’re here to lead the underclassmen. Other than that, it’s a team sport, so it’s the same as any other year.”

As far as short-term goals go, Cox understands “baby steps” will be required. Hewitt-Trussville was unable to win any area matches last year, but in an area stacked with the likes of Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Spain Park and John Carroll, flipping that around is no small task.

“My biggest thing is that we see the gap between the scores coming closer,” Cox said. “I don’t want to lose 25-10. I want to compete. That’s going to be big for us, is believing that we can compete, because we can, and just seeing what that looks like when we get that mindset.”

McDaniel said the team’s chemistry is better than it has been and Lockett said the keys to the team’s success would be “talking and sticking together as a team.”

Cox said her vision for the program is to grow throughout the Trussville community. The talent is there, as evidenced by the success of the girls basketball and softball programs last school year. The girls basketball team made it to the state championship game and the softball won the Class 7A title, both firsts in the respective programs.

“We most certainly have the athletes to get there,” Cox said. “I really would like to see these girls not only invest we have now, but also investing in the future.”

Rounding out the Hewitt-Trussville roster are junior Caroline Stearns, freshman Haley Wilkinson and a bevy of sophomores in Julia Farris, Gabrielle Dion, Ayannah Parrish, Chrischandria James and Zoe Walker.

Hewitt-Trussville hosts the Husky Challenge tournament Sept. 14. Also throughout the month, the Huskies play matches against Mortimer Jordan, Corner, Vestavia Hills (twice), Westbrook Christian, Mountain Brook and John Carroll.