The Lady Bucs are Back

By Ruth Ann Ruiz

The Post Newspaper Features Editor

The Lady Bucs at Holy Family Catholic School (HFCS) in Galveston have not been playing volleyball as a team for a couple of years because the pandemic brought HFCS volleyball to a halt. This year the volleyball team is back! 

The young ladies are volleying the ball and building their skills as a team and as individual players. 

The team consists of only eight girls. Five of the eight are new to playing volleyball, and half of the team is made up of fifth graders, according to Coach Pomes.

What they lack in experience and team numbers, the Lady Bucs make up for in their camaraderie. While practicing in the gym, the experienced players serve as mentors for the less experienced players. Each teammate looks after each other, and if one is missing some shots, another shares words of encouragement. 

Not only do the teammates support and encourage one another, the young ladies seem to have an enthusiasm and a willingness to take on something new, even when — and perhaps especially when — that something new is a challenge. 

The girls are blessed with three dedicated coaches. Each of the coaches has a commitment to the game and the team. Coach Pomes is the head coach and comes to the game with his PE background but says he’s never coached before. 

Coach Saige, on the other hand, brings ten years of coaching experience to the team. 

“I’m hoping to instill in the players a passion for volleyball and I’ve got a lot of practice drills planned for improving their techniques,” Coach Saige said. 

Coach Weber also serves as the technology teacher for the kindergarten through eighth graders and the science teacher for the sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Because she knows each of the girls as students, Coach Weber brings an added level of personalized feedback to each player. 

Playing team sports involves more than being an outstanding athlete. The girls are learning lifelong skills. One skill the coaches and players agree that they are learning is communication. With volleyball it’s about using your voice and your body to let your team members know whether you’re going after the ball. 

Because the teammates must communicate with their voices as they play, they feel they are also learning to speak up for themselves. Some of the players say they feel they are learning how to rely on others as they play volleyball together. And the skills they learn in volleyball some of the players believe will transfer to other sports, such as softball. 

The Lady Bucs are matching up against girls from other Catholic schools in the Galveston-Houston region. 

So far, the Lady Bucs have won half of their volleyball matches, and they still have six more regular matches to play. Their games start at 4:30 p.m. 

If you want to go cheer on the team, you are invited! Here’s what the remainder of the regular season schedule looks like:

October 2 – Holy Family @ St. Augustine 5500 Laurel Creek Way, Houston, TX 77017

October 4 – Queen of Peace @ Holy Family 2601 Ursuline St, Galveston, TX 77550

October 9 – Holy Family @ St. Helen 2213 Old Alvin Rd, Pearland, TX 77581

October 11 – Holy Family @ True Cross 400 Fm 517 Rd E, Dickinson, TX 77539

October 16 – Holy Family @ St. Clare 3131 El Dorado Blvd, Houston, TX 77059

October 18 – St. Mary @ Holy Family 2601 Ursuline St, Galveston, TX 77550