‘They’re Just Scratching the Surface’

Marco Island Academy had an easy time sweeping Mason Classical Academy, 25-12, 25-7, 25-11, in the Rays’ gym on Thursday, September 14. And with the season at its midway point, head coach Alyssa Stolinas sees an improved young team that will improve even more in the weeks to come.

“We're a little over halfway through our season,” Alyssa Stolinas said, "and our schedule is strengthening. We're getting ready for districts. And that's ultimately what we talked about at practice Saturday. We asked the girls about their goals. To win districts. Qualify for regionals. Go down to state. They have the mentality. It's just making sure they stay on that path. You always want more. And that's something I try to instill in my girls. Yeah, we win the Paradise Coast Conference (PCC), that's fine. But what's the goal beyond that? Okay, districts. But what's the goal beyond that? Ultimately, at the end of the day, the goal is a state championship.”

The Rays compete in one of the state’s strongest districts. Strong enough to produce three state championships by Seacrest in the past decade.

"We are in a tough district,” Stolinas said, "we're in with Southwest Florida Christian. We're in with Neumann and obviously there's Seacrest. There's eight of us. So, everything we do is leading up to that moment. Seacrest, I'm sure, will be the one seed this year. They’re great as always. So that's kind of the goal. But I think I think we have the talent. We're just scratching the surface." 

Stolinas likes her chances with her talented young roster. She only has one senior in the lineup.

“We only have one senior this year,” Stolinas said, "which is Jenna Reagan. And this year she's been playing both outside and libero for me."

Stolinas sometimes moves the versatile Ragan from outside hitter to libero to take the pressure off of Sophia Ogdin, who is just a freshman. A talented and quickly improving freshman—but a freshman, nonetheless.

“My whole purpose with Sophie is I'm protecting her confidence,” Stolinas said. “That’s something that's super big. It’s not that she doesn't have confidence, but once she gets 100% confident in what she's doing, she's going to be a good little libero for us. And having her get that exposure and that playing time as a freshman is really fun to watch. From when I started working with her in the summer versus now, she has grown tremendously. She's a hard worker. She always wants more. She's never okay with being okay. She always says, ‘Okay. Yeah, Coach, that was an okay pass. But how do I make it perfect?' That's something I really love about her. Not to mention she has the best little personality. She just always strives for more. And it’s that way with my whole team in reality. Wow, they're hungry. They want more. And it all starts with Jenna. Jenna, if you if you watch her play, she's very hard on herself and you know, she's our senior and leader. And when you watch her, if she makes a bad pass, you see it in her face. She likes to be perfect."

Another player making big strides is sophomore middle hitter Rylee Howard.

“Rylee started club last year and it brought her to where she needed to be. I think honestly, it's just confidence. And once she once she understood what she was capable of, that expectation stayed there. She’s gotten taller. I mean every time I see her, I'm like, 'You're growing!' You know, she is. She's tall. And the good thing about her is she's really athletic. She picks things up super-fast and she's very calm. When she goes up, it's like you trust her. It's like that sense of calmness when she goes up to swing. She doesn't get startled. She has that look in her eyes like, ‘Hey, I'm going for it.' And that's what I love about her. When you have those athletes that crack under pressure, it can make a good athlete very bad."

The glue of the squad is the coach’s niece, Madison Stolinas, who is the team captain.

"I'm a little bit harder on her than anyone else,” Stolinas said. "She's been around the game since she was little. She's been playing club since she was 12. And she also understands from not only a player's point of view, but from the coach's point of view. She kind of gets both sides and we get very analytical sometimes. She's a smart kid. So, she picks things up pretty quick. And in all honesty, that's why she's my captain, not because she's my niece, but because her IQ is just—I don't even have to tell her. She'll know the call and she'll know what to argue. Coaches can't physically talk to the referees. You have to go through your captain. And so, she's kind of my voice on the court with the referee.

“And she's a good leader. And as the setter that's kind of role you have to take on. And she does a great job of running the court and she also does a great job of lifting the girls up. So that's kind of a plus about her. But my whole team is kind of like that. They're all like, 'Hey, you got the next one.' That's something I instill in them. You can play as an individual, but until you figure out how to play together as a team, you'll never be successful. You can't win it with just one person. You have to win it with all six of you.”

Stolinas feels her team hasn’t reached their peak. She wants that to happen in time for the district tournament.

“It's just making sure it all clicks at the right moment,” she said. “We're waiting for it to click. I think that has to do with them being so young and they're very raw talents. It's just doing a lot of fine tuning and getting them to trust themselves and understand we're human, we make mistakes, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And that's kind of more mental than it is physical. And that's kind of what we've been pushing the whole time. You can start off a game really strong, but it's your response that's everything. And that's kind of what we're trying to instill. And it's great having a young team because next year, you know, though we're going to miss Jenna so much, we will still have our core."

Stolinas said one of the strengths of this year’s team is their togetherness.

"They all genuinely get along,” Stolinas said. "They all enjoy each other so much off the court. And that just only benefits on the court.”

MIA (12-3) hosted The Village School on Wednesday. On Thursday they travel to First Baptist Academy, a traditional power.

“We're excited,” Stolinas said. You know, the girls are excited to start playing tougher teams."