By Brian Nowlin

The Farmville Herald

The Prince Edward High School varsity volleyball team will have a new face running the program this year as Janet Green takes over for former head coach Bruce Bogese.

Green brings a wealth of coaching knowledge to the position this season as her experience includes time at both the University of Richmond and Longwood University.

While working at those schools she spent time coaching field hockey and lacrosse. In addition to that, she played on the United States lacrosse team for 10 years. Having worked and played with elite athletes will be beneficial in bringing some of that knowledge to the high school level.

In addition to her many years of coaching experience in a variety of sports, Green has also played volleyball at the Richmond Volleyball Club and in other venues.

While she is excited to work with the team and move the program into 2015, she also was quick to recognize the work done by her predecessor.

“I’d like to recognize the former head coach, Bruce Bogese, who has done an outstanding job developing this team,” Green said.

“He has made my job much easier.”

Coming into the year Green says that the team is fairly young but does have some depth and a strong group of returning seniors to help bring the younger players along.

Some of the returning seniors include Samantha Gubash, Kaitlyn Jones, Cheyenne Aitken, Olivia Borum, Diamond Boxley and Allison Franklin. 

Boxley is a player the team can certainly build around as she will be attending VCU next year on a scholarship, according to Green. 

“Diamond is an outstanding example of a rising DI player. She is tall with a great vertical jump, superior hitting and a 4.0+ GPA. I am looking forward to her drive and leadership on and off the court,” said Green. “Most teams will know Diamond before we arrive. What they won’t know about is the power of our teamwork and the developing skill of the other team members.”

While on the court performance is going to be a huge priority for the Eagles this season, Green said “academics come first.”

“My expectations of the players on any team is that they will be held to a higher standard. They are going to have to keep their grades up while working hard at practice and traveling to away games.”

Helping her balance the academic and athletic success of the squad this year will be assistant coaches Kim Lettner, a former police chief in the Richmond area, and Christina Walker, who is an experienced player and English teacher at Prince Edward. 

Green stated, “I am very much looking forward to working with the players and coaches to make this team the best team in the history of PE.”