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09/03/2014 12:00 AMLaura Meyer has grasped a good sense of what the Guilford volleyball program is all about and she now gets to implement what she has learned toward making the Indians a force in the SCC once again.
The North Haven alum, who played the sport along with basketball and softball for that town's Indians, went to Springfield College in Massachusetts before joining the Guilford coaching staff on the sidelines three years ago. Following spending her past two fall campaigns heading off the Indians' JV club, Laura is taking the next step as the head coach of the varsity squad this fall.
"It's exciting to be the head coach now. It's nice to make the program into something different and new," Laura says. "I want to have everyone working together and bonding. It will be nice to start new traditions. The prior head coach taught at a different school, so it didn't work out for her scheduling-wise. The school asked if I was interested, and I went through the interviewing process, and was hired late in the school year this past spring. Previously being a part of it helps because I know how the program works."
As a new leader, Laura says it's crucial to be on the same page mentally with her girls. She adds that she will make the necessary adjustments as things unravel, but not without spiking encouragement to her players and dishing out constant optimism.
"Knowing the game is important, but I will be very patient with these girls," Laura says. "I'm not a yeller out there; I will talk things out with the players. I will correct them, yet I will give them positive feedback and always tell them they are doing a nice job."
One of Laura's assistant coaches in JV Coach Erica Mansi states that Laura has opened the doors to healthy a rapport between her players and colleagues due to Laura already having had her foot in the door at Guilford.
"We just formed the staff and team, but she and I ran a summer conditioning program for the girls this summer and right away there has been more team leadership," says Mansi. "Laura and the rest of us are concerned more about making the team a team. She really deserves this spot and has a good relationship with the girls. Because she was here last year and we worked together, we aren't afraid to tell each other what to do."
The emotions surrounding Laura's philosophy have certainly transferred to her roster, as she has noticed things starting to click early on in the preseason-paving a road for steady progress throughout the regular campaign.
"The biggest part of the joys of it is seeing the girls enjoy it at all levels, including the JV and freshmen teams," says Laura. "It's also great when the players and entire team are successful, get it, and improve as the year goes on. We had tryouts a few weeks ago and the vibe here is positive. There is a lot of energy here and they are working extremely hard. All of it makes the coaches and girls even more excited."
While Laura will enter her tenure with Guilford holding a squad short on veterans, she aims to slowly yet efficiently mold the Indians into a group that garners success on the floor and grows annually off of it.
"We graduated seven seniors from last year and are returning two players with varsity experience, so this is a young team this year," says Laura, who will be assisted by Mansi, Freshman Coach Kristy Kehoss, and volunteer coach Brittany Landon. "But I've been extremely impressed with them the first few days of practice, and I think we can surprise teams. I want to have a couple of successful years, rebuilding years in terms of tradition and expectations. Eventually, I want more wins, but also a team with big interest and numbers and to keep that interest growing.”