Telegraph Staff Writer
After dropping the first set in the Suwannee Middle Athletic Conference championship match, the Lake Butler Middle School volleyball team found itself in a hairy situation.
Assistant Coach Nancy Griffis, looking to provide a little extra motivation, promised the players they could make their head coach less hairy if they rallied to win.
The Tigers did just that, defeating Williston 2-1 on Oct. 11 to capture their third straight SMAC title and their fourth in five years.
As promised, players manned the clippers and shaved off Head Coach Robbie Best’s beard during an Oct. 12 pep rally.
“Once it started coming off, it was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Who is this guy?’ They had never seen me without it,” Best said.
Lake Butler went undefeated for the second straight season, finishing with an 18-0 record. The Tigers had played Williston early in the season and “did very well against them,” Best said. However, the Devils showed great improvement by the time the SMAC championship match rolled around.
“Those girls developed as players over the season to where when we played them in the championship, it was like it wasn’t the same team” Best said.
The Tigers were struggling in the second set after dropping the first. It was during a timeout when Griffis told the team they could remove Best’s beard if they came back and won the match.
“I don’t know if that made a difference in their motivation or level of play,” Best said.
Perhaps that was just icing on the cake after a win. Best said things may not have started well in the match, but he could look at his players and tell they weren’t rattled.
“They believed in their ability to win,” Best said.
Best told his players they were in a situation that would ultimately define their character.
“Do you have the grit and the guts to push through and play your best? They did,” Best said. “They showed what kind of character they have as athletes.”
Best would tell you his team played courageously, which falls into one of his three “C”s, along with Correctly and Consistently.
“You have to play correctly. If you do it wrong, it’s going to end up being a mess,” Best said. “You’ve got to do it consistently because every now and then is not good enough. You can’t win championships if you’re inconsistent.
“Then, you’ve got to do it courageously. Sometimes you need real courage. You’ve got to dig down and find out what you’re made of.”
With the success the Tigers have had in recent years, the players are obviously playing in a way that incorporates those three “C”s. They’ve also been good about excelling in the two on-the-court fundamentals that Best said his teams need to do well above all others: serve and pass.
“Pretty much every girl on (this season’s) team was able to do those two things and do them well,” Best said.
That says another thing about this year’s team. With every player serving and passing well, Lake Butler was a true “team” in the sense of the word.
“We had no superstar. We just had a lot of stars,” Best said.
The “stars” who made up this year’s team were Bailee Austin, Lexi Crews, Alexia Cyr, Paisley Dugar, Carsyn Dukes, Bella Johns, Indi Knox, Courtney Manning, Bethany Phillips, Hayden Robinson, Jolena Rogers, Jailyn Simmons, Morgan Smith, Bayley Staier, Madalyn Turknet, Presley Whitehead and Abigail Williams.
Crews, Dukes, Johns, Knox, Simmons, Staier and Williams were part of last year’s championship team as well.
What has benefitted the program is the fact that Best and Griffis coach two teams. The “A” team consists of the older, experienced players and is the one that wins the SMAC titles. The “B” team is made up of the younger, inexperienced players.
Best said people have asked him why he doesn’t have just one team, saying it’d be less of a headache coaching fewer players.
If there was just one team, though, any of the younger players who successfully made the team most likely wouldn’t get the experience as they do on a second “B” team.
“I need those young girls because they are my next year’s team,” Best said. “I need the opportunity to coach them up and help them to get on board with things.”
It leads to a solid “A” team in the future, but the goal is to also benefit the Union County High School program.
“We know that what we do at the middle school, when it transfers up to the high school, it enhances their program,” Best said. “They now have some athletes who are hopefully better prepared to play at a high level.”
While success and winning championships are the goals, Best said it’s surprising how much success his “A” teams have had. They work hard toward those goals, but, of course, nothing is guaranteed.
“Every season’s different. Every team has been different. There’s been different talent and different chemistry,” Best said, adding, “You can’t dismiss the fact that other teams have played the game well. They’ve given us some great competition.”
Best may be the head coach, but he said a lot of the credit for the success goes to Griffis. He said she’s that extra set of eyes that sees things he might miss during a match.
“She’s a tremendous part of the program,” Best said. “We would not have had the success without her contributions.”
Best said parents going “the extra mile” factor majorly into that success as well.
As always, the program receives administrative support, whether its Principal Angel Thomas and Assistant Principal Denise Ricks or Superintendent of Schools Mike Ripplinger.
“We’ve had a very supportive administration. We’re always blessed from the top down,” Best said.
