Cavs hoping to roar with Lyons

New volleyball coach hoping to follow successful footsteps

Friday, July 18, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL Former Cavalier April Lyons, who was recently named the team’s new varsity volleyball coach, stands in front of the Class 3A state championship banner she helped the team win in 1998. Lyons was Calvert’s junior varsity coach the last four years. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Lyons, who coached the junior varsity team previously, takes over for Dave Redden, who stepped down after nine years to spend more time with his family. But Lyons said she thinks she’s ready to step up to the varsity ranks.

‘‘I’ve had [the junior varsity position] for four years, so I feel now that I’m ready to go to that next level,” Lyons said last week during an open gym at the school. ‘‘I’m excited and anxious and nervous all at the same time, because I will be stepping up from where I was, but I look forward to it.”

‘‘April Lyons is going to be a shot of adrenaline to this program,” said Brad Criss, Calvert High School athletic director. ‘‘She has an amazing amount of energy for the game, the kids and for CHS.”

When asked if Lyons, the former April Shields, was a good fit, Redden said: ‘‘Definitely. Well, No. 1 she came up through the program, so she knows how to play, but she also knows how to play to win, but she also knows that bad taste when you go out and give it your best and someone still takes a game from you. She’s going to be a wonderful fit for the program.”

And her players also seem to agree.

‘‘I’m excited and I think it’ll be fun just like any other change of pace is,” said rising senior setter Evelyn Oakley. ‘‘She’s a lot of fun and she can be laid back, but when it’s serious time, she definitely has no problem telling you what you need to be doing and pushing you. I’m really excited.”

‘‘She’s a really good coach, she’s a really good leader and inspiration to us and I think she’s going to be something really neat,” said Tricia Gott, a rising senior outside hitter who split time between varsity and junior varsity last season. ‘‘She brings a lot of hard work and a lot of energy and a lot of personality. And she’s really good on defense.”

Rebecca Kruder, a rising junior outside hitter, added: ‘‘She’s very experienced, because she played and she’s there for you when you mess up. When we don’t play well, she makes us work for it. She makes you earn it and prove you can do it.”

Lyons will be expected to fill some big shoes with the Cavaliers. Calvert has not won less than 14 matches over the last 12 years and it’s been 17 seasons since a Cavaliers squad finished with single-digit wins.

Redden finished his career with a record of 163-29, an .849 winning percentage, and Tim Horsmon, now the volleyball coach at the University of Maryland, won 60 of 62 matches during his tenure, which lasted from 1996 to 1998. Before that, Richelle White compiled a five-year record of 56-20.

‘‘Oh, it’s a lot of pressure, because I’m just a little short girl who played defense,” Lyons said. ‘‘I do [have big shoes to fill], because everyone’s been successful. I just hope to take what I learned from them, and what I know from playing, and put it all together.”

Lyons conceded her four-year stint as the team’s junior varsity coach helped prepare her for the varsity job.

‘‘[At first] I was looking at skill, skill, skill but I realized it was a lot more than that,” said Lyons, who led the Cavaliers to a 27-0 record the last two years. ‘‘I thought it was just about their talent, but it’s not. A lot more comes into it; such as being dedicated to the team and the aggressive side of it and finding a leader in the bunch. I also had to consider the outside part of it; which rules I would enforce and what I would do if girls came in late, the fundraising, the team unity, the paperwork and the parents. I’d never thought about all that until I did the junior varsity. A lot more went into it than just skill; it was an eye-opening experience.”

‘‘Oh, that will help her tremendously,” Redden said. ‘‘She’ll know the girls and the girls that will be playing for her will know her.”