THS volleyball team moving forward under new coach Hamner

Replacing a legend is never easy. But new Terrebonne volleyball coach Craig Hamner is in the process of giving it his best shot.

After serving as former coach Chip Didier’s longtime assistant coach, Hamner is now the man in charge at Terrebonne – a school that has thrived for years under his predecessor.

And through his first few weeks on the job, Hamner said he has already found himself calling upon some of the lessons he learned as Didier’s right hand.

“There’s a lot of different things that I picked up from him,” Hamner said. “But I think the biggest thing was just understanding our strengths and from there, how to fix our weaknesses. That’s one of the biggest things we’re trying to keep on doing here.”

In addition to keeping the old coach’s traditions alive, the new coach said he wants to create a “laid back and fun” atmosphere for his players.

“The best way to describe my style is I like to keep things open with the girls,” he said. “We like to have fun, but at the same time, staying focused and staying serious. We want to look at the big picture and not overwhelming ourselves with the mentality that, ‘Oh, we have to win this game,’ or ‘Oh, we have to win that game.’ Just take it one day at a time and fix what we didn’t do well yesterday.”

And so far, the coach’s approach has hit the right button, as the Tigers’ players say they are excited to start the “Hamner Era” in Terrebonne volleyball on the right foot.

“I really like how he’s positive and is always encouraging us,” said junior middle hitter Brooke Fonseca. “He always tells you what you need to do [to improve], but he always follows it up with something positive.”

Senior outside hitter Cymoine Fleming agreed and said the coach’s youth makes it easier for the team to address and correct any problems they may be having.

“He understands that with our team, if we can’t be laid back, then we’re going to be all tense and we’re not going to play as good as we can,” she said. “When we’re happy, laughing and are having fun with each other, that’s when we play our best. I think coach understands that we can be happy and have fun, while being serious at the same time.”

Didier retired following the 2009 season, leaving with more than 30 years experience and several hundred victories under his belt.

In the coach’s final season, Didier almost went out on top, as Terrebonne made it all the way to the Class 5A State Semifinals.

But the coach’s departure was just the start of the change in the program. The Tigers lost six seniors off that team and will have an entirely new starting lineup in the new season.

“Really out of the 16 players, we have basically 15 brand new players,” Hamner said. “It’s really a learning process. These kids have to get used to playing at the varsity level, as opposed to the junior varsity level. There’s going to be a lot of early mistakes. Mental mistakes, and things that an experienced team wouldn’t have, that’s the things we’re dealing with. I think we’re very athletic and have plenty of talent, but right now, we’re just not very experienced yet.”

One of the only returnees with varsity experience is Fonseca, who Hamner said is, “one of the best middle hitters in the state.”

Joining her in the starting lineup will also be junior outside hitter Sabrina Bergeron and the team’s lone senior, Fleming, who said she embraces being the “big sister” of the team.

“I tell them that if they ever need anything, or need someone to talk to, I’m here,” she said. “I want them to see me as their big sister, not necessarily as a senior. Because I know there’s that whole, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s a senior, she doesn’t care about us,’ way of thinking when you’re younger. But I just tell them that I’m their sister and I’m here for them.”

And while the team might have youth and inexperience, they do have fresh in their minds the lessons learned from last year’s dominant senior class.

“They taught us a lot,” Fleming said. “I learned how to be a leader from them. We had sort of like a big sister thing with them, and I learned a lot from my big sister Sierra Lyons. She taught me a lot. She taught me how to be patient. She taught me to never give up. She taught me that as the senior, you have to be there for everybody and if anything goes wrong, then it’s on you and nobody else to fix it. That whole senior class showed us how to be that role model you want to be – that person everyone looks up to.”

So the names on the roster are different and so is the man on the bench. But with the district season around the corner, don’t expect too much else to be changed with the way the Tigers’ program is run under Hamner and his brand-new set of players.

“Coach Didier was a big role model for me. He’s a good friend, a good teacher, and he’s who taught me the game,” Hamner said. “I’m going to try and do a lot of the same things he does and has done in the past. He had a great tradition here. It’s my job to take that and build upon it.”

New Terrebonne volleyball coach Craig Hamner stands on the Tigers’ volleyball court prior to practice. For years, that gymnasium was the stomping grounds of legendary coach Chip Didier. CASEY GISCLAIR