SIKESTON — Sikeston volleyball is gearing up for a new season under the leadership of returning coach Steve Beydler.

Beydler, who spent 19 years coaching at the Lady Bulldogs before a five-year hiatus, brings a wealth of experience to the program and is eager to help revitalize the team and establish a long-term presence.

“I never quit coaching club volleyball even when I wasn’t doing the high school team,” he said. “So I have stayed deeply involved in the game. Having said that, volleyball at the high school level has undergone quite a few changes in the past five years.”

The program experienced a remarkable level of coaching stability in its early years. In fact, for the first 44 years of volleyball at Sikeston, there were only two head coaches: Janie Merrick, the program’s founder and Beydler.

However, the team has had three different coaches in the past five seasons, a far cry from the reliability and continuity they experienced under Merrick and Beydler.

“People leave coaching for various reasons such as starting a family, moving to a new district, continuing their education, and many other understandable things,” Beydler said. “But this lack of continuity can be tough on a program and especially tough on the athletes

“I’ve seen numerous openings the past couple of years that schools in this little region of the state that schools have found difficult to fill,” he continued. “And keeping coaches who are competent and knowledgeable has become even tougher.”

Although Beydler stepped away from high school coaching five years ago, he’s remained deeply involved in the volleyball community. He has continued to coach at the club level, most recently at NSSC Volleyball Club in Cape Girardeau. This experience has allowed him to stay current with the latest trends and developments in the sport, ensuring he brings a fresh perspective.

“There was a lot of excitement when I arrived here again,” he said. “ We have tried to take that energy to push ourselves. This season will be a growing season. We will see some successes and we will see some non-successes. But it takes time. We will learn from the things that don’t work and we will continue to see growth.”

Beydler expressed his enthusiasm for the positive reception he has received from the school, players, and parents since taking on the coaching role. Despite the challenges ahead, he was impressed by the strong turnout at summer camps and the players’ dedication to improving their skills. Beydler highlighted the team’s positive chemistry and eagerness to learn, noting that they are one of the most driven groups he has worked with.

“They’re all hungry for knowledge,” he said. “I have some that we have to push out of the gym because they would stay much longer if they could.”

The Lady Bulldogs are relatively young, with only two seniors: setter and captain Kennedy Watson, and Katie Rose Ressell, a versatile player who can fill multiple roles.

The rest of the roster consists of players with limited varsity experience, making this season a crucial opportunity for development. Beydler has identified several promising young players who will contribute to the varsity squad this year, while others will benefit from gaining experience on the junior varsity level.

Beydler is grateful for the support of his assistant coach, Savannah Kesselring, who plays a vital role in managing the day-to-day operations of the program. Kesselring’s competence and dedication have been invaluable to Beydler, and he hopes she will have the opportunity to lead her own program in the future.

“She is the young to my old,” Beydler joked. “She is uber competent in these things and has been a great help. She and I meet together and talk quite often about running a volleyball program.”

The team kicked off the season with a jamboree at Campbell High School on Monday, August 26. This scrimmage allowed the Lady Bulldogs to gauge their readiness for the upcoming season and compete against other local teams.

“ I got to try some things out,”: Beydler said. “We had a decent showing. The jamboree did exactly what it was supposed to do. It is a nice snapshot showing us what we look like today. It exposed some vulnerabilities we have that need to be worked on and it showed that there have been some improvements in our game since we started in June.

“We will be much better by season’s end than we are today,” he continued. “I say that with confidence because I know this group of young ladies and I see it in them every day. Hopefully, that can become momentum to build on and carry on to future seasons.”

Sikeston’s season starts at Bernie on Tuesday, September 3.