As she enters her second season at the helm of the North Putnam volleyball season, Jenny Heron is excited about the potential her team has.
However, she also enters with a bit of an unfulfilled feeling looking back on last year.
"After taking over in the 2022 season, I think, as a whole, we felt unfulfilled and like we could've done more in every spot. People were in a lot of different positions that also lacked some inexperience at the varsity level. I am not sure if we really had an identity as a team and that's something I've taken personally as a coach to work on this summer and season," Heron told The Putnam County Post.
Last season, the Cougars went 15-12 and finished fifth in the Western Indiana Conference with a 6-4 mark.
With the hope of improving, North Putnam embarked on a strong offseason that saw the Cougars attend the Ohio State Team camp as well as the Dunes Team Camp and worked with their youth and "got after it" at open gyms and weights.
"One person who has really gotten after it is Mack Mason. She is a kid who works hard and gets after it with no excuses. Mack was on the c/freshman team her freshman year with a very limited schedule, a big part of our JV team last year, and I think she will be a big part of our team this year. She is our only junior but carries a ton of energy and accountability on her back. Our seniors have done a great job leading and stepping up the standard from last year. They understood what our weaknesses were last year and put an emphasis on correcting those and got after it this summer. I am extremely proud of the leadership they have shown as they are all huge, key pieces to the success we will have this year," Heron said.
She added the underclassmen have also had a strong offseason.
"A few of our underclassmen have looked much more comfortable on a varsity level court than last year with getting some experience in. Our sophomores and freshman have been eager to learn and are getting a ton better every time they are in the gym. I am excited to see where we can go this year in all three of our teams," Heron said.
North Putnam does have to replace its lone senior from last year, Kylie Rust.
"Kylie brought a lot of rawness to our team and sacrificed her body many nights with some shoulder problems. I will miss having her all out defense on the court this year, but I know we are up for the challenge," Heron said.
After the strong outings this summer, Heron says she believes it could be anybody's night when they step foot on the court.
"People will be in new positions from last year that you wouldn't have expected and our team's dynamic is different. I don't think anyone could guess what our lineup will be this year and that could still differ night to night. I try to not look too much into personal stats and more how the team is flowing and how we're losing or getting points and the reasonings behind them," Heron acknowledged,
With the season rapidly approaching, Heron admits she took some time recently to think about what she wanted to accomplish this year compared to last and what needed to be fixed as a program and each team.
My main thought is we need to be where our feet are. Yesterday's loss or win doesn't matter and we can't get to tomorrow unless we finish today. We need to look at each day's opportunity and give it our all. I think if we can do that and not let outside noise get to us, we will be where we hope to be come postseason mentally and physically. I am extremely excited for this group and eager to get the show on," Heron said.
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