PREP VOLLEYBALL: ROYAL'S FERGUSON STILL THE MAN IN CHARGE.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer It may come as a surprise to some to see Bob Ferguson sitting on the end of the bench this season. ``Am I still coaching?'' Ferguson said, feigning surprise while trying to stifle a laugh. ``I've heard all kinds of rumors that I wasn't coming back this season.'' Ferguson is back, preparing for his 17th season as coach of the successful Royal High girls' volleyball program. There had been some speculation that Bob's son and longtime assistant, Travis, would take over the team this fall, but Bob Ferguson still has a firm grasp. ``Travis and I had this long discussion, but I'm going to stay with it,'' Bob Ferguson said. ``I'm trying to make a smooth transition, because Travis is a great coach. I try to call him a co-coach, but he still wants to be known as an assistant.'' So the father-son coaching duo will continue one more year, at least. ``I'm still having fun with it,'' Bob Ferguson said, ``and Travis is not sure which direction he wants to go in yet, so we'll keep going like this.'' Challenge ahead: By most accounts, Royal will not run away with the Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. title this season, although the Highlanders return three starters and seven players overall. Royal will be hurt by the loss of last year's Daily News Player of the Year, Courtney Guerra, but are led by setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. Michaela Skelly Skel´ly v. i. 1. To squint. n. 1. A squint. , 5-foot-11 outside hitter Kelli Lyons and 6-0 middle hitter Andrea Balach, all seniors. Other players expected to make an impact are junior middle hitter Carly Huffman, outside hitters Amanda Kiser and Tanya Grover and outside hitter Kari VanFleet, who will make the transition from defensive specialist. But even Ferguson isn't quite sure what he has. Various injuries and vacations prevented him from having his starting group together even once during summer league play. ``The summer league was kind of a drag,'' Ferguson said. ``We usually play to win, but this year we were just trying to see what the kids could do. A couple of them are still nursing injuries, so we sat them down, and that should help make our bench stronger.'' The challengers: Westlake, which finished second in the Marmonte League last season, returns five starters and seven players overall, including the setting duo of Lauren Mills and Tawny taw·ny n. A light brown to brownish orange. [Middle English, from Anglo-Norman taune, variant of Old French tane, from past participle of taner, to tan; see tan Thorp. The Warriors already have their sights set on their Oct. 5 match against Royal. ``That's our goal,'' Mills said of beating Royal and winning the league. ``I think we can get them this year. I think it's going to be a good season, because we basically have the whole team coming back. ``We just have to find a jell jell v. jelled, jell·ing, jells v.intr. 1. To become firm or gelatinous; congeal. See Synonyms at coagulate. 2. , because we know how each other plays.'' The Warriors, led by second-year coach Karen Klee, also return outside hitters Stacey Lee and Alexis Zarian, middle blocker Amanda Tapking and defensive specialist Julia Varshavsky. Teacher vs. student: When Moorpark hosts Royal in a league match Sept. 30, Michelle Lampkin will be facing her former school and her former coach. ``It's going to be very exciting for me,'' said Lampkin, who most recently coached at Esparto esparto Either of two species of gray-green needlegrasses (Stipa tenacissima and Lygeum spartum), native to southern Spain and northern Africa, or the fibre produced by esparto. L. spartum grows in rocky soil on the high plains. S. High in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern . ``Sandy (Ferguson's wife) would always tell me, `You're going to be a coach someday some·day adv. At an indefinite time in the future. Usage Note: The adverbs someday and sometime express future time indefinitely: We'll succeed someday. Come sometime. .' ``I still can't believe I'm going to coach against Bob Ferguson.'' |
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