“I bleed orange and blue”, that’s what Head Coach Jacklyn Clements said to me after our interview yesterday.
As she sorted through jerseys, Coach Clements seemed primed and ready for what she thinks should be another great year on the hill.
After winning their district last year, this season, like every other team on the hill, the Lady Cougars will head back up to the Clarksville area and renew some long-standing rivalries.
One of those rivalries will be Henry County, a team Coach Clements is happy to see back on the schedule.
One of the other things Coach Clements was very excited to see back on the schedule was overnight tournaments.
Due to covid regulations, the team was unable to travel overnight last year.
However, this season the team will travel for several tournaments, including the largest across the southeast the Rocky Top Classic, September 10th and 11th.
“I believe in the exposure of higher teams” coach Clements said when asked about the Classic, “if you play at your level you will never get better.”
The level of competition for the Lady Cougars this season will be higher in district play but lower in regional play since they won’t be facing Williamson County schools in regionals.
The first uphill climb for this team, however, will be replacing six seniors, three of whom signed college offers with UT Southern.
Coach Clements certainly seemed up to the challenge pointing out that it is “just the name of the game” having seniors graduate and needing to replace talent.
She also pointed out that the camps they are having over the next three weeks where these girls as well as herself get to be around college coaches and players “soaking up knowledge” will be highly beneficial for everyone.
A large and talented 9th-grade class will also help bolster the depleted roster.
Freshman Ragen Cooper comes from Burns Middle having also played travel ball with Alliance and has already shown a well-rounded skill set that excites even college coaches.
Kyla Dixon played just one year of volleyball in middle school, yet showed up to tryouts and blocked nearly every upperclassman ball hit.
Dixon might even see playing time early due to an injury to a returning role player in the middle.
Coach Clements mentioned several more upcoming 9th graders she hopes will develop quickly because she believes the talent is there.
People were excited to see Coach Clements return to her alma mater last year and after a district title expectations are only increasing.
If you want to hear the full interview with Coach Clements you can at the link below.
Keep checking back as we continue to preview fall sports at both Dickson County and Creek Wood in the coming weeks.
