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Gulf High School Volleyball Bouncing On A New Course

Eric Horchy/SUNCOAST

Gulf team captain Sammy Seybold sets up an attack with Chelsea VanDenkooy looking on. Seybold - the team's only returning starter from last season - finished with 11 assists on the evening.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: September 19, 2008

Updated:

NEW PORT RICHEY - The 2008 Gulf High School girl's volleyball team is a personification of the term overhaul.

After 13 years with former coach Shari Schau at the helm - previously the third longest active tenure in Pasco County - Chris Vergnaud grabs the reins for his first year as a staff head.

Couple that with the Buccaneers only returning one varsity player from their 9-11 campaign last season and a JV roster 100 percent full of fresh faces, and "rebuilding" doesn't seem to quite encapsulate it.

The program is now as green as the uniforms on their collective backs.

Is it a daunting endeavor? Of course. But it's a challenge that Vergnaud - who graduated from Ridgewood in 2002 - is looking forward to with anticipation.

"The challenge is the age and the experience," he said after a recent road game. "We face mental challenges as far as trying to gel as a team and not beating ourselves up after mistakes."

"I look at it as a positive challenge. With the knowledge and skills that I have and my staff brings, I completely believe we're going to be in the running by next year."

Vergnaud assisted Schau last season. Before that she was a student assistant on the women's volleyball coaching staff at Florida Gulf Coast University, in Fort Myers, and with various AAU girls' teams since 2003.

As of Wednesday, the Bucs sat at 1-5 overall. They have taken their lumps along the way, but have also begun realizing the benefits of what Vergnaud is implementing and appreciating his hands-on methodology.

"I'm glad there's a change in intensity," said Sammy Seybold, the lone Bucs' returner from last year. "It makes the team want it more. It's a completely different program and idea."

"This year's more like the getting-up-there year, and next season is hitting the pavement."

"Every week I give the girls focus sheets," he said of one of his preparatory techniques. "I've told them that this year we're not worried about wins and losses. It's how we meet our weekly goals."

The team's foundation stands at the net. Seybold, Morgan Hernandez, Chelsea VanDenkooy and freshman Lea Burbridge provide Gulf with heavy hitters who can thrive when the attack is properly set up.

Off of that frontline potential, Vergnaud will continue to nurture the rest.

"It's like a working machine," he said, describing the interconnectivity needed for successful volleyball. "Once we find our rhythm, we're on it."

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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