New crop of talent offers a promising future for Southside

Rebuilding is a word absent from the vocabulary of Southside head volleyball coach Rosalyn Grimes, but after four-straight losing seasons, a 0-5 start to 2014 and a promising freshman class, investing in the future is unavoidable.

“I hate losing,” Grimes said. “However, I still lose gracefully. I always tell them, everything happens in time. You don’t always get what you wish for — you get what you work for. Once they finish putting all the work in, I promise the results will come out. Right now, what they’re putting in is what they’re getting.”

While Grimes is focused on bringing her team together and winning in the present, she’s confident that Southside will be a powerhouse in the near future. Of course, it won’t be an overnight fix.

The Coastal Plains Conference is home to a medley of great Class 1-A volleyball programs like East Carteret and cross-county rival Northside. All seem to be high on their latest crop of freshman, but it’s the Seahawks’ newcomers who enter high school proven winners.

“Symone and Danielle (Ruffin) — they’re not used to losing,” Grimes said. “They lost one game total last year in middle school, so they’re not used to it.”

To make a varsity squad as a freshman — no matter the sport — is an honor. To start on a varsity team as a freshman, well, that takes pure ability.

For Symone and Danielle Ruffin, volleyball seems to run in the family. They’re first cousins with excellent chemistry and a great volleyball foundation, stemming from their success at Chocowinity Middle School. The cousins spearhead a promising future built on a winning philosophy, one that has yet to materialize this season.

Southside seems to be trapped in limbo. The team has exhibited plenty of individual success in spurts, but can’t seem to bring it all together. Symone Ruffin, arguably the most talented player on the roster even as a freshman, has been thrust prematurely into a leadership role in an attempt to return her team to winning volleyball.

“Symone is stepping up, being the leader I need her to be,” Grimes said. “You can still tell she’s is a freshman volleyball player. However, at the same time, when it’s time to make a play, she is the game changer. She’ll never change her facial expression. She’ll never change her style. She is always relaxed and calm and you never see her get upset or emotional. She’s becoming a leader, but she’s not the leader yet. She doesn’t want to step on anybody’s toes.”

Southside’s junior varsity team notched its first win last week, as a collection of freshmen and sophomores were promoted to varsity for the match against Jones Senior. Grimes made the move to take some of the pressure off the regular starters.

After a moribund opening to the match, Grimes injected some of her JV players — Hannah Paramore, Kinyara Daniels and Jadekia Green — into the lineup. The result was hardly instant success, but the new rotation appeared to be more cohesive and fundamentally sound than the varsity starters. Mistakes were limited and more points were put on the scoreboard.

“If they’re going to be the game changers, they’re going to be moved,” Grimes said. “I’m going to play them a couple more games moving them down and up. After that, if they’re constantly going to be the game changers, then that’s how it’s going to be.”

Southside was able to take its first set of the season on Thursday against Lejeune. Nevertheless, the team is a long way from keeping pace with the likes of Northside.

Grimes continues to stay optimistic even in the face of adversity.

“I haven’t gotten discouraged at all,” she said. “I’m still feeling that we can come out and play. We’re going to get there. In the next couple of years, Southside will be a force to be reckoned with. “

The Seahawks will look to end their losing streak on Tuesday when they host Columbia.