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By SETH HAGAN | Special to the Reporter

NORTH SHELBY – A new season of volleyball will soon begin at Briarwood Christian School, and the Lions will have a new program leader in Luann Causey.

She is stepping in after coaching the junior varsity and freshman teams over much of the last seven years and brings valuable experience as an all-time great for Troy University where she still holds the record for assists.

That experience and her familiarity with the program at BCS will serve her well as she looks to help the Lions succeed in a tough division that features defending Class 6A state champion Mountain Brook.

It’s a task that will require hard work, and the new head coach knows this all too well as it meshes with her program’s theme for this year—Do hard things.

“Our offseason training has been great program-wide,” Causey said. “The girls committed to 6:30 a.m. practices, workouts, play dates and a team camp at the University of South Alabama. We have a class of six seniors that have put in a lot of time and hard work, and I’m looking forward to them all contributing.”

Causey is thrilled by the engagement she is seeing from her players, but also the leadership she sees developing on the court.

“I have great expectations for senior setter Jolee Giadrosich as she is taking on new challenges and expectations daily,” Causey said. “Stella Helms is an amazing athlete and continues to drive our offense as a junior.”

Causey also said the hard work from her 11 varsity players is preparing them for the difficult schedule ahead.

“We have packed schedule, but I’m excited about each one of these girls contributing,” she said. “Not only are they hard workers, they each show up daily with a great attitude and are learning to have a relentless attitude for their teammates.”

Briarwood also has other new additions to the coaching staff who will aid Causey in raising the competitive standard for the volleyball program.

“We have a great coaching staff with added members in Carrie Lusk and Quenta Pollard who have great volleyball knowledge,” she said. “This will contribute to the success of all our kids as they each have a special gift they add to our program.”

The Lions’ staff will be tasked with finding those talents while navigating a difficult team schedule this fall. The task is tall, but Causey is embracing the challenge and is encouraged by what she’s seen from her club so far. That’s why she’s not shy about the team’s goals for 2022.

“Our goals are big,” she said. “Knowing this group of kids and the way they work, I’m sure they will exceed all expectations.”