Volleyball Head Coach Tyler Reeves / Photo Courtesy of SC Jaguars
By Blanca Esthela Castañeda Garcia
COVID spiked volleyball for a while, but the 2023 Lady Jaguars rolled into a new era, paving the way for a return to normal.
Head coach Tyler Reeves said “normal” is subjective but he and his young team were glad to be back.
There was volleyball in 2021 and ’22, but it was a time of masks, testing and other reminders of global pandemic. This year was the first taste of real freedom since 2019.
“The masks inside were tough,” he said. “No one wants to wear masks while running and playing and doing exertive things. There were a lot of rules, but we made it work. It’s always better to be playing volleyball than not playing volleyball.”
Playing volleyball is Reeve’s primary training method,
he said.
“You don’t get good at playing volleyball by running a mile in a certain amount of time,” he said.
Reeves started as a high school boys coach as Hilltop High School with the JV. Soon he was also the coaching the JV girls at Castle Park. He became coach at Southwestern Coach during the Year of COVID in 2020.
Reeves said he would like to help create a volleyball culture at Southwestern with fun-loving, rowdy fans and loud gymnasiums packed with supporters.
“Good fans always make you play better,” he said. “It may not be a tangible effect you can measure, but it makes everyone feel better and you want to do better. You get that little extra push when the fans are behind you. I appreciate everyone who comes to support the team and I know the players do, too.”
This year has been a struggle, but if the freshmen players return in 2024, Southwestern College could be title contenders.
“Most of these (women) were freshman getting used to the college game,” Reevers said. “I try to help them with time management and making good decisions off the court. Winning is important and it is more fun to win, but the (women) this year are a bunch of great (women) and I want them to have fun playing. I really think volleyball is the most fun sport you can play.”
