After 30 years as an assistant coach, David Sievers is stepping into the role vacated by Mark Barousse, who led the 2017 Mules to their third undefeated and untied regular season in school history before losing 29-28 in a four overtime district semifinal slugfest to Jackson.
Sievers wants fans to hold him accountable and push him to improve upon the team's 24-3 record over the past three seasons.
"I hope there is that expectation (to win)," he said. "I hope we're able to do that. We're pretty young and our numbers aren't what they need to be right now, but I expect to win football games."
Realistically though, he understands it will be a process to reach that point -- whether it happens this season or in a few years. Participation numbers are down across each class -- including a senior class of 13 -- and only two starters returning on both sides of the ball.
"We're young and inexperienced in some critical places," Sievers noted. "But it wouldn't be real honest to say that I believe we can run the table and go undefeated. We just have to figure out if we're going to try and outscore people or if we're going to try and shut people down. Hopefully we're able to do both."
Sievers will have to decipher the team's roster over the next few weeks of practice. Right now, practices are focused on conditioning and installing the team's playbook. As the pads come on, the team will look to polish their play and transition into game-preparation practices.
He constantly reiterates the one thing his players can constantly control: effort.
"We're going to play hard and we're going to get the most out of the kids that we can. I'd like to sit here and say 'We're going to dominate on offense and we're going to dominate on defense' but right now, I think it's just a matter of getting the kids to buy into what we're doing and just being fundamentally sound.
The Mules will look to hone their fundamentals in a scrimmage this Saturday. Fans are encouraged to attend and donations will be taken at the gate with proceeds going toward The Bread Shed.
Swimming
The restarted boys swimming program had the unfortunate honor of having the first practice of the 2018-19 Poplar Bluff school year. Practice started at 5 a.m., a good hour before the sunrise, at Huntington Municipal Pool. Castin Caudel, Christian Todd, Jack Harrison and Gavin Vaughn were the only four to participate. Coaches said they are expecting to have about a dozen swimmers by the time the season starts.
"We are very excited. We are looking forward to having the program back at Poplar Bluff. Hopefully we have a really good year," assistant coach Adam Barker said. "Just hoping to grow the team and get some experience under the kids' belts."
Volleyball
Sophie Rowland approached coach Amanda Lance with one thing in mind -- she wanted to be the leader. As the lone senior on the 2018 Mules volleyball squad, Rowland felt the responsibility of the role was important was too important to pass up.
"She has claimed it as hers, so I expect a lot out of her," Lance said.
Lance, who's in her seventh season as the Poplar Bluff coach, noted that Rowland and everyone else on the team will need to step up to fill the leadership roles after the Mules finished with a 21-11 record last season.
Lance said that the two seniors lost from last season were the team's primary middle hitter and setter. Fortunately, this year's team has a lot of utility players that can play well at any position on the court.
"That's going to be one of our challenges this year," Lance noted. "We need to find out where everyone works best, which is a really good problem to have, but at the same time we have to figure out what works best for us.
"Since the positions are up for grabs, it's basically that they're going to have to trust each other and do what's best for the team. Although the position that they need to play for the team's benefit might not be their favorite position, they've got to realize that is what the team needs."
Ultimately, Lance believes the team can build upon the success of last season. And with Rowland's leadership, no accomplishment is out of reach.
Boys Soccer
A 4-16 record last season is not the result Mules coach Rusty Crafton expected and it certainly wasn't the result he wanted.
Last season is last season, however, and he's unconcerned with the past. He's focusing on now and what he can do to make the 2018 Mules a superior product.
Crafton noted that everything on the field starts with conditioning. Improved stamina and speed can go a long way to improving small, but key factors of the game like time of possession.
"We're going to be in a lot better and shape and improve our team speed, Crafton said.
"I think we need to keep control of the ball longer and I think if we can control the clock, it'll give us a greater chance of winning games."
Along with four returning seniors, Crafton said he's excited for the young group that's entering the program, noting that they could help the program to at least double their wins this season.
Because of the young talent, the leadership responsibilities won't need to weigh on the shoulders of the seniors.
"It's not just the senior group leading, but I think we'll have a collection of young talent being leaders and that's a great thing," Crafton said.
The first few weeks of practice will heavily focus on the fundamentals: ball skills, ball handling, ball passing and whole field drills. Once the roster is decided and the coaches decide which players to fill in next to the returning eight starters, the coaches will begin to incorporate different sets into the practices.
As they forge into the season, Crafton wants his players to "Be ready to play, mentally focused and come together as a team."
Capitalizing on that mantra early will assuredly prove that 2017 is in the rearview and the 2018 Mules are here to win.
Softball
Coming off of an impressive 21-7 record, Mules' softball sixth-year head coach Lisa Boyer is aiming to maintain the consistency that she's established.
She'll face one of her toughest challenges as she manages to overcome the loss of five seniors from last seasons, including some that provided crucial batting power. This year, however, she hopes that pitching will provide the stabilizing force that the team will need to succeed.
"I do think my pitching is going to be one of our strengths for sure," Boyer said.
She added that she believes her team can sufficiently fill the holes left in the batting order, despite the team's young age, noting that travel ball has aided them with experience and grit.
Despite three seniors headlining the team, Boyer is unsure of who will take the leadership mantle for the team, adding that it is too early to tell.
One of the biggest disadvantages for the team each year is the lack of practice time that they receive. Of the 34 that came out for softball, ten will have to be cut, a decision that must be made before the team's jamboree on August 18th. After the jamboree, the team will have to immediately shift toward game preparations and focusing on different game scenarios.
The lack of time lends itself to girls that can perform at a high level early and aren't fazed by pressure-filled situations.
Despite the success she wants to see on the field, Boyer doesn't just sees her role as a mentor as well as a coach.
"I try to emphasize sports as a thing to learn some life skills," she said. "Just as a stepping stone, some girls are going to leave high school and never play softball again, but they can use this toward other life experiences."
Regardless if the team's consistency on the field can be met, she wants them "working together and working hard." That's all the consistency she needs.
Tennis
Tennis used to be fun, but now? It's serious business. Well...the fun is still there, but according to Mules' tennis coach Michael Sowatzke, the team now has the ability to compete for a district championship.
Before, girls came out for tennis without ever playing a single game in their lives. Now, the team runs through a list of specific drills to work on different components of their game. The idea is still to have fun, but now the program is able to develop complete players.
A large factor for Sowatzke's optimism is the five returning starters -- four seniors -- to the team and the steady amount of participants during the team's summer workouts.
"We have a lot of girls that have been coming out in the summer and we just haven't had that before," said the first year head coach. "That's what it takes; girls that are willing to come out. We're trying to capitalize on this season, this is the year where we actually have a chance to be top in districts."
The summer turnout also helps with the early week of practices. Limited practice time and only 90 seconds of coaching amid changeups during matches severely limits the amount of hands-on teaching that Sowatzke can do.
While they have the practice time, Sowatzke is using it to analyze the biggest weakness for each player.
"70 percent of the hits are forehands so serves and forehands are a big thing we're trying to get strong," he said. "The other things will come along, and as the practices go on we'll have to analyze the things we haven't worked on like backhands and above the shoulder hits and below the knee hits."
With or without the success, Sowatzke wants "fun" to remain the one constant that each girl takes away from the season.