Lady Roos look to rebuild fast in new district

The Weatherford Lady Roos head into this season with a new district and a lot of new faces for Coach Courtney Hammett.

The Lady Roos graduated most of their starting lineup from last year.

“Both outside hitters, both setters, our starting middle, our starting opposite hitter and some strong defensive players,” Hammett said. “That group has been the core of Weatherford volleyball for a long time now so to lose them definitely hurts.”

The team is not only new, but also young. Only three seniors are on the team with the majority being juniors (seven) and sophomores (five).

Some key players early in the season are sophomore Laine Tomlinson and junior Ava Broadie as outside hitters, getting fed a lot of sets to do damage offensively. Middle blockers getting playing time early on are junior Mia Hargis and freshman Eloise Beauchamp, who is the tallest player on the team despite her age. Opposite hitters looking to get some rotation time early in the season are sophomores Brinlee Northcutt and Mayiah Polk along with junior Tara Auldridge.

Sophomore Joy Versola and junior Natalie Griffin take on the all-important setter positions, being the team’s quarterback offensively. The defensive quarterback at libero in the back row looks to be junior Hayden Faught. She is joined in the backrow by senior Kyler Kemp.

Of course, many more girls could emerge as the season goes along since this season will look to feature a lot of growth from where it is starting. Chemistry on the court takes both practice and game reps, but Hammett is already encouraged by the bond the team is building off the court.

“This group wasted no time bonding and developing relationships early,” Hammett said. “Returners and veterans took younger players under their wings. JV move ups and new athletes embraced our culture and philosophies and have already bought in. The chemistry on the court will come, but I have no doubt the chemistry off the court is already rock solid.”

Along with a new team there will also be a new district for the Lady Roos. After being in a district with several Mansfield schools, Weatherford will now be in one with several Arlington schools along with fellow Parker County school Aledo moving up to 6A. The county rivalry looks to renew as the Lady Cats are expected to be one of the top teams in the district the Lady Roos will have to go through if they want to think about a district title.

Hammett is entering her third season and with this big roster shift, she is confident the culture she has built will continue with this group.

“We talk about having a next-ball mentality in every aspect of the game and not dwelling on the past,” Hammett said. “Whether that is their own mistake, a teammate’s mistake, a bad call, or a loss. Take what happened, learn from it, and move on. We are young and rebuilding so mistakes are inevitable. We have to have that mentality this year especially in order to be successful.”

This year’s team motto is “Together As One, We>Me” which she hopes her players will take to heart to reinforce them coming together as a team and playing for something bigger than themselves.

“Whether that something is a family member, a friend, your school, your community, a teammate, a coach, a lost loved one, your faith; when you pour your heart into something outside of yourself with passion and love and determination, the outcome is a success regardless of the scoreboard,” Hammett said.