The Bulldog girls volleyball team has a new head coach.

 

Greg Lynch has taken over the reins left by ex-coach Kristina Sloane, who  resigned following news she was pregnant.

 

Lynch comes in with 14 years of volleyball coaching experience under his belt, including coaching at every level of school competition and spending the last two seasons as the JV coach.   He has also coached for the Inferno Volleyball club for 10+ seasons for multiple age levels.

 

Lynch has 59 players in the school’s volleyball program with the most being in the junior and sophomore classes.

 

Lynch expects his team to be strong at the net this year with Jessica Gruber and Lexa Hosler being his two big hitters.

 

“Our middles are also confidently running several fast attack options,” he says. 

 

With Lynch’s promotion, Heather Holien, a third grade teacher in the district will be the JV coach this year. She has spent the last few years coaching volleyball at Cathedral and coaching club ball for Granite City.  

“She also has significant experience as a player in high school and college,” Lynch said.  “She's been a great addition to our program.”

 

Becker’s JV2 coach is Brianna McGinty, who joined Lynch’s coaching cadre last year at the helm of the two freshman teams. 

 

Frances Kipka and Corey Martell are Becker’s two freshman coaches this year and have been coaching at the middle school level for two seasons as well as coaching for the Inferno Volleyball Club.  

 

“I most enjoy helping players develop and grow,” said Lynch. “I believe that sports are a great vehicle to teach a lot of important life skills such as reliability, loyalty, competitiveness and sportsmanship.  I also just really like the sport and teaching its strategies and tactics is a lot of fun.”

 

Lynch says the hardest part of coaching is understanding and helping players balance all the expectations and obligations their lives are filled with.  

 

“My players are very involved and have school and jobs and family and church obligations as well as those of the team,” he said.  “When everyone is demanding their full attention, it can be a real juggling act for a student player to make it all work.”

 

Lynch’s captains are Senior Leah Andersen and Juniors Sydney Bordson and Jessica Gruber.  To become a captain on Lynch’s volleyball team, it is more than just being a starter on the team.

“To become a captain, the girls had to complete a written application and conduct an in-person interview,” said Lynch.  “They were then selected by coaches based on thier application and interview answers as well as the leadership qualities the coaches had seen them display during the previous season.”   

 

Becker’s toughest foes this year will most likely be Albany and Cathedral, who fielded tough teams last season and Lynch expects they will be very competitive this year as well. 

Lynch is working hard to instill an identity for the team and he loves his player’s commitment to the program.

 

“I would describe (our team) as dedicated and driven,” he says. “All my players put in a lot of time during off-season training and conditioning to be ready for the start of practice in August.”

Lynch’s goal this year is to field a squad that ends up at .500 or better while finishing in the top three in the Granite Ridge Conference.  

 

“ Both of (those goals) are very achievable for us,” he said.

 

Don’t look for the sidelines at games to be quiet during games as Lynch likes his players to know he’s always there to back them up and cheer them on.

 

“I am fairly outspoken with players on the court,” he says. “I believe one of my jobs as a coach is to be another set of eyes for my players and to tell them what I see happening on the court to help them make adjustments to the flow of the game.” 

 

Besides his trio of captains, Lynch’s team consists of seniors Hailey Koep, Miranda O’Brien and Nikki O’Brien. Juniors Abby Maruska, Bailee Thorson, Payton Anderson, Josie Berger, Abby Becker and Bria Amundson. One sophomore, Jillian Olson made the varsity roster. 

 

THE 2017 BECKER BULLDOG GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM. (In no particular order): Leah Andersen, Sydney Bordson, Abby Maruska , Bailee Thorson, Payton Anderson, Josie Berger, Abby Becker, Jessica Gruber, Jillian Olson, Bria Amundson, Hailey Koep, Lexa Hosier, Nikki O'Brien and Miranda O'Brien. New Head Coach Greg Lynch is on the back right.