Tigers Take Off

PRESCOTT – "With the return of varsity volleyball to Prescott, I look forward to building a program here for which the student body and community can be proud of," said first-time Lady Tiger coach Bob Young. And while Young is new to Prescott, he's not new to coaching.

Most recently, Young coached 7th grade volleyball at Sager Middle School in College Place, from 2011 to 2013. He also coached at Republic High School in Republic, Wash. from 1977-79 and was head volleyball coach at Central Washington University in 1980. Young has also coached baseball, softball, track, basketball and cross country.

Young began teaching middle school English in Prescott last year after a 35-year gap in his teaching career while he was working in the business world. He was pleased to learn of the new coaching opportunity.

"I love coaching. It's a great chance to help kids grow outside of the classroom. I believe sports are a great opportunity to learn how to develop the personal attributes of: character, commitment, confidence, cohesiveness and competitiveness," he said.

Young wasted no time and began networking with local college coaches soon after he was hired to coach last spring. "I met with Don Hepker of Walla Walla University (WWU) and Matt Helm of Whitman College. Matt was gracious enough to host a two-day clinic at Prescott (during the summer) for our girls, focusing on the first touch skills of serving and passing," Young said.

"We turned out Sept. 1 to watch Whitman beat WWU at Sherwood Center. The girls got to see firsthand what volleyball can look like," he said.

The Tigers kicked off season play at the LWK Jamboree at Kahlotus on Saturday, Sept. 5. "We finished 1-4 against Connell, Waitsburg, TCP and LWK. It was a learning experience. Our focus was on setting the tone of team unity for the season. The girls responded well to that. We have a special group of girls. We are in the beginning stages of developing our skills and learning the game," Young said.

Young said the team will rely on their captain, Athziry Amezcua, who played with WP for the last several years, for leadership and experience. Team members include seniors Athziry Amezcua, Ruby Rosales, and Perla Xolio; juniors Michelle Cardenas, Elizabeth Perez, and Maribel Mendiza; sophomores Jocelyn Granados and Yoali Ortega; and freshman Ashley Diaz.

"I'm looking forward to see how our girls come together, to see how they learn to compete, to see how they overcome adversity, to see how they learn to work hard and find the benefits of hard work," Young said.