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Football kicks off this weekend but lots of other sports are also ready to start their seasons at schools in the Kaiserslautern Military Community. Athletes have undergone rigorous preseason workouts and cuts have been made as coaches piece together their 2018 lineups.
TENNIS
Kaiserslautern High
The Raiders are looking forward to this season and appear to have strength at the top of the boys’ and girls’ teams. Coaches said there is a bevy of optimism heading into this fall with new courts, a new school, and some obvious talent appearing at preseason practices.
The girls’ team finished with a 3-3 regular season record last season, but lost three of its top-seeded players to graduation. Incoming freshmen, returning players with a year of experience under their belts, and several transfers are being asked to fill the void.
The overall boys’ team is a work in progress, but will be anchored by Mark Butler, a senior, coming off his semifinal appearance in DODEA European championships. Butler finished fourth overall in the highly competitive Euros final meet and took his opponent to four sets.
Returning sophomore Luca Petritz, and newcomer sophomore William Alsing have looked solid in this year’s preseason while several returners and newcomers are battling out for varsity spots. The rebuilding boys’ team also finished the 2017 campaign with a 3-3 mark, down from consecutive 5-1 records the previous three years.
“Often those just starting in the sport may end up improving enough to fill varsity spots towards the end of the season,” said coach Beth Quinn, who works with David Quinn and Justin Bates on the KHS staff. “Tennis is a highly skilled and athletic lifetime sport that takes time to develop. We have had student athletes who work hard and study the game of better players and go from the very bottom of the team, to varsity starters in a short period of time. Every season is different.”
Ramstein High
The Royals are being led by coaches Cynthia Sebastian and Katina Campbell. Ramstein had a duo to win the girls’ doubles title at Europeans last season plus another pair in boys’ doubles that took third place. The overall team finish for Ramstein was second, behind champion SHAPE.
VOLLEYBALL
Kaiserslautern High
Led by coaches Aaron Scalise, Zachary Robinson and Erin Shaffner, the Lady Raiders hope to use several tall and talented players to improve on last season’s 3-11 record. The KHS team will travel around Europe along with other DODEA schools, playing on match days with two or three other schools each weekend. The KHS team will open play on its own new home court September 29, hosting the Panthers from Stuttgart High.
“We have a tough schedule, yet I do not believe there is any better way to prepare than to play the toughest competition,” Scalise said. “We want to continually measure ourselves and make adjustments to improve our play.”
Three varsity starters return this season and each of them are juniors. All-Region selection Kayla Dyer is a leading returning defensive player while Korrin Harris is one of the team’s strongest setters and Gina Popovic is a potent outside hitter.
“We have had several move-ins over the summer and are looking to place a competitive team on the court,” Scalise said. “We’ve had a large turnout for volleyball this season, and honestly, we are excited about the possibilities this season holds for our program.”
Baumholder
Coach Jason Steadman arrived from Kaiserslautern and took over the Baumholder program, with the season beginning next weekend. Steadman is assisted by Tim Maracle and inherits a group of athletes that is both tested and inexperienced.
Baumholder plays in a three-way match competition at Brussels on Sept. 15 then hosts two other schools in matches the following weekend of Sept. 22 in their home gym. Annabel Brinkmeyer was an All-Region selection last season but many more Buccaneer players will be called on to make the team competitive in coming months.
Ramstein High
With a coaching staff headed by Mell Henriques, the Lady Royals are optimistic this season after seeing more than 70 players show up for preseason tryouts. The season begins this weekend with a four-team match event hosted by Stuttgart High. Set to participate are squads from Ramstein, Stuttgart, Black Forest and Kaiserslautern in the round-robin match series.
Ramstein returns some players with height including All-Region middle hitter Masaya Archbold from the 2017 team, which made it to the Euros semifinals before falling to Naples. Europeans championships for all three area schools will happen November 1 to 3 after two months of regular season play.
