Anniston, AL – Stability, positivity the watchwords under new Faith Christian volleyball coach; Lady Lions open area play with sweep of Winterboro
By Al Muskewitz
One of the first things Avery Gowens said in his first meeting with the Faith Christian varsity volleyball team is he was there for them for the long haul. It was music to their ears. The Lady Lions were about to enter the season with their fourth head coach in as many years, a revolving door that doesn’t do much for continuity and consistency. Every season they were trying to learn something new and it really never caught on until late in the year.
Luckily, they knew Gowens as their junior high coach the year before so the familiarity that’s so necessary was there. And it has translated on the floor. The Lady Lions say they’re more together than they’ve been in a while and Monday easily won their area opener over Winterboro, 25-12, 25-11, 25-20. “I told them I’m here ‘til the end,” Gowens said. “My minimum, for the time I’ll be here, y’all will be long gone by then. “I fell in love with their effort and their drive last season that when they offered me the position I couldn’t not do it. There’s too much potential to win in this program at all levels for it to just be passed around coach to coach every year.
“Something I touch on every day in practice is I’m there for them and I don’t want them to feel like he’s saying this but next year it’ll be someone else. For me to go it’s going to take a bit. It’s going to take a while.” Faith athletics director Casey Farr said stability and continuity was important when she was charged with finding the Lady Lions another coach. Justin Kisor had the program for three years, took it to the state semifinals in 2018 and stayed another year before moving on to a larger public school.
The team had a new each of the next two years. “Avery was our junior high coach last year and he did a great job with them; you can see the benefits of that from our current (undefeated) junior high team,” Farr said. “When we were looking at hiring a new head coach that was our biggest concern – who’s going to stay here for the longest time. [*** read more]
