SONORA, TX-- Wednesday, Aug. 1, marked the opening of practices for Texas high school volleyball teams.
Wednesday also marked the official beginning of the Judi Harris era for the Sonora Lady Bronco volleyball team.
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Former coach Kayla Perez left Sonora after this past spring and winning a district title in the fall. The Lady Broncos were 52-24 under Perez in her two years with the consensus being the Lady Broncos were getting situated at the top of their district which includes Brady, Wall, Reagan County, Grape Creek and TLCA
But the move left a hole in the Sonora program. Athletic Director Jeff Cordell wanted someone who could keep Sonora at the top. So, his eyes turned to Class 4A program Hondo and Harris, who officially accepted the position at Sonora in May of this year.
Harris, her husband, Clayton, the new girls basketball coach at Sonora, moved out west with their three kids to fill the vacancies with lofty goals in mind.
“(Sonora) has a very rich tradition in winning,” the first-year Sonora coach said. “My entire family, we want to win a state championship. So, ultimately, we felt like Sonora was the best place for us to have that chance this year and years to come. That’s really what brought us here.”
When the Harris family decided to make the move, the Sonora community immediately assimilated the clan from Hondo.
“The community is phenomenal. They really sold us,” Harris said. “They’ve been very welcoming. Bringing in three kids, two of them in high school, it’s kind of hard to move kids.”
Harris would go on to say the community acceptance has made the transition a lot easier on her family.
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Inheriting six returning players from last year’s district champions in addition to three talented transfers makes the transition smooth from a coaching standpoint, too.
“It’s pretty awesome. It’s a good feeling,” Harris said. “I’ll tell you, I was real nervous going into Thursday, our second day of two-a-days, because we only had two days to prepare (for the first scrimmage). Any time you bring in new players, you’re worried about team chemistry.”
Harris said the team was able to bond prior to their first scrimmages on Friday and Saturday and says that helped the players “gel”.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” Harris added. “They play like they’ve played together for years.”
However, Harris was teaching summer school at Hondo through June and wasn’t able to join her team until July.
“But we had all the kids playing summer league and doing all of those things,” Harris mentioned.
When she arrived in July, one player’s leadership stood out in Harris’ eyes.
“Mary Kyle (Johnson) has been phenomenal,” Harris praised. “She’s a leader and the kids really respect her. So, she’s kind of been the one to help join my thought process and my philosophy with the old players. She’s bought in. As soon as she bought in, it was done.”
Last season, Sonora was able to get over the hump called Wall by sweeping the Lady Hawks to clinch the district title. This year’s installment of the rivalry will likely carry the same weight and Harris is excited for her first taste of the Sonora-Wall rivalry.
"I've heard about it," Harris smiled. “I think it’s going to be a good, exciting year between the two of us.”
The Lady Broncos open up the 2018 regular season with a trip to Llano where they will play the hosts Llano and Jarrell on Tuesday, Aug. 7.
Following that double-header, the Lady Broncos will travel to Pearland in the south of Houston for the Adidas John Turner Classic. The tournament will feature big names like San Antonio Brennan, Brandeis and Amarillo. The Lady Broncos are ranked 35th among the field of over 80 teams.
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