King Volleyball Team Looks Forward to Upcoming Season

’s head volleyball coach, Cookie Mitchell, and her varsity team feel like they have something to prove. In the 2010-11 season (Mitchell’s first with the Lions), they went 9-6, a record that might not be a big deal to some, but was to everyone involved with Lions volleyball.

“This is a big deal for King,” she said. “Not only for the varsity team, but for the entire volleyball program here at this school. We turned the program around from a losing record to a pretty strong winning record in just one season.”

Mitchell said she was very pleased with the improved record, especially since the team made the playoffs. Although they lost in the second game of the district playoffs to Freedom High School, Mitchell said that last season “was arguably one of the best seasons the school has had in recent years.”

Mitchell was the head volleyball coach at Alonso prior to joining the Lions for the 2010-11 season. In the offseason, she is involved with the Tampa Bay Raptors, a local volleyball club. In fact, when she came to coach at King, many of the girls from the Raptors club team decided to follow.

“We have definitely gotten some attention because of that record last season, and a lot more girls are coming to play for us instead of going to private schools,” Mitchell said.

According to Mitchell, she has tried to do something different than any King team has done in the past, and although it isn’t directly related with on the court play, she said it has helped.

“What I did was to try and improve the communication between the varsity and junior varsity teams,” she said.

Her husband, Mark Mitchell, is the head coach of King’s junior varsity volleyball team, which makes things a lot easier.

“Before we came here, the varsity and junior varsity teams did not work together, practice together, or even talk to each other,” Cookie Mitchell said. “There was no team feeling or unity among the volleyball program here.”

So, Mitchell took the task into her own hands, trying to create a successful program that she hopes lasts for years to come.

“I changed the communication problem immediately,” she said. “I now make sure everyone helps each other out, and if I find out that there is someone on the team who needed something or was in a jam and someone did not help her, I won’t be happy. I tell my team, ‘you are all volleyball sisters,’ and I make sure they take that seriously.”

With four returning players from last year’s squad (Danielle Hange, Kayla Bennett, Mallory Mitchell, and Madison Sroufe), the Lions are anticipating another successful season. Sroufe, a freshman last season, registered 186 digs, 106 kills, and 13 blocks last season, and Mitchell said she hopes Sroufe puts up similar numbers this year.

“I am really looking at Maddy to stand out a lot again this season,” she said. “She had a good year, and I expect her to have a similar one if not better this time around.”

Over the summer, the Lions were moved to the new 6A-8 district. They will now compete with the likes of Sickles, Strawberry Crest and Leto, among others. According to Mitchell, this is an advantage for the Lions.

“We are really looking forward to competing in the new district and improving on some things this season,” she said. “I think we are going to be very successful, and I am very confident in our ability to compete in this district.”

With last year’s scores, King now has the third best record among the teams in the 6A-8 district.

• Sickles, 16-12 (7-1 in the district)
• Strawberry Crest, 12-10-1 (6-1 in the district)
• King, 9-6 (3-3 in the district)
• Jefferson, 3-9 (2-3 in the district)
• Armwood, 5-9 (2-4 in the district)
• Hillsborough, 1-11 (0-5 in the district)
• Leto, 0-10 (0-6 in the district)

Also over the summer, the Lions participated in a tournament at Hillsborough Community College (HCC), finishing in third place. They defeated Sickles and Freedom in that tournament, showing their improvement and readiness for the upcoming season.

“We are putting some girls in new positions this season, and they have been able to practice their new positions over the club season and in the tournament,” Mitchell said. “This will put them in a better place on the court so we can get some more kills and finish points faster. We have got some phenomenal freshman coming in this season, and I have no doubt that there will be a few freshman on the varsity team this year.”

The Lions will began conditioning for the upcoming season Aug. 8, and their first game is away against Lennard on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. Their first home game is Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. against Chamberlain.