New year, new seasons start with new coaches

The new school year has kicked off with several sports events and three teams have found themselves with brand new coaches.

Starting off with football, new head coach Andres Perez-Reinaldo has taken control of the team. He helped coach the Warriors in the past as the team’s offensive coordinator, but this is his first year leading the show. He decided to become head coach for the pure love of the game and the kids playing it.

“I really enjoy seeing the kids grow and learn to be responsible,” said Perez.

According to Perez, the top goals for the team are to have the highest student athlete GPA of the county and to win the state championship. In addition, Perez hopes to have a great season and see all of his young student athletes become successful young adults.

“If we were aiming for anything less, we would be settling,” said Perez.

Volleyball also gained a coach this season. The new head coach, Laura Stegenga, has been coaching the sport since she was only 18 years old. She used to coach volleyball at Gaither High School and when she saw the coach position open up at this school, she “just had to snap it up”.

“I knew of the past success of the volleyball team, so I knew that they would be at a high level and excited about volleyball,” said Stegenga.

Knowing this, she was not nervous or scared at all to take up the position because “all the players want to be there and are excited and motivated to play”.

This season, Stegenga says she will hold the girls accountable on the court, in the classroom and always push the girls in every game and in every situation to do their best. She never wants the girls to underestimate their opponents and she would like them to treat each game as step toward the bigger picture.

“Success is the overall expectation,” said Stegenga while talking about what she hopes for the season.

Stegenga also hopes to help the girls build their characters and other life skills. She also loves working with the girls and hopes to build a great relationship with all of them over time.

The third new coach is head soccer coach Angela Gillisse. She played soccer in high school as well as in college and has kept many memories from her experiences. Previously, she was the athletic director and soccer coach at St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School.

“I always wanted the challenge of coaching at a high school, and this opportunity opened up for me, so it was cool,” said Gilisse. Gillisse hopes to build off of the team’s past success and help them reach even greater things. She wants to get all of the girls healthy and in shape for the season and, while playing, having fun and having passion for their school.

“I want to make sure we are ready for the season, set some goals early on, and make sure that we are playing together as a unit, and try and work out any kinks we have early on,” said Gillisse.

This season, Gillisse wants the whole experience to be a good high school memory for the team. She also wants to have a good relationship with all the girls.

According to all three of the new head coaches, the teams can expect to work hard to achieve their goals and to have a successful season.

Emily Goldbach / Co-Sports Editor