Runners, spikers and soccer start Monday

CLOVIS — The high school games will start soon enough. Before they can, though, Clovis teams will be practicing, gearing up for what they hope are seasons that end with lengthy state playoff runs.

Practices begin this week for the Clovis boys and girls soccer, volleyball and cross country teams. And for Clovis boys soccer coach Greg Trujillo, practices can’t start soon enough. He lost 10 seniors from last year’s team and needs to work the current mix of players into a sound defensive unit.

“Without officially having practices (yet) we’re going to be kind of pressed for time on that,” said Trujillo, whose team opens practice Monday at 3 p.m. “We’ve got to get the guys set up in those positions that are key because if we don’t have defense, it doesn’t matter how good my offense is.”

For the Wildcats’ cross country team, Monday is just the first small step toward the District 2-6A and state meets. It will be an important evaluation day for 21st-year coach Mark Bussen.

“Most of them I’ve been in touch with over the summer, so I kinda know their conditions,” Bussen said. “But I have a few who have been away for the summer. Probably the biggest thing I’ll look at is what is the condition of the whole team. ... Sometimes in the past I’ve set workouts based on the most fit people, and kids end up getting hurt and you end up driving them away.

“So the first week is really a cat and mouse kind of game. It’s always fun.”

Bussen says this is the first of his 21 seasons as coach that his team hasn’t practiced before school starts. The first bell rings Monday morning; the first cross country practice is scheduled for 2:40 p.m. Monday at Ned Houk Park.

“The first day of school is stressful enough,” Bussen said. “So they’re a little worn out emotionally and mentally when they come that first day anyway.”

Clovis’ girls soccer team will also begin practice Monday at 2:45 p.m. “We’re going to be doing some fitness and some technique drills for tryouts,” head coach Traci Sievers said.

Sievers doesn’t expect the practices, not even the first day, to be chaotic.

“It’s pretty orderly,” she said. “We’ve been having optional workouts all summer and we’ve had pretty good turnout for those. So usually, the girls who have been coming to those know the routine, know what to expect. Only now it will be mandatory, everybody will be there.”

Also Monday, Ruth Chavez begins her 31st season as an area volleyball coach, but only her second as Clovis’ head coach after spending the previous 29 at Portales. She feels settled in this time around.

“I do, I do. I feel good,” she said. “We had a great summer. We went to five tournaments, we worked in the gym in June and July.”

On a normal practice day, there would be some morning conditioning. But that won’t be the case Monday, being the first day of school. The Lady Wildcats practice 4-6 p.m. on Monday at Rock Staubus Gymnasium, and it won’t be a light workout.

“We’re going to have tryouts. ... They’ll be intense,” Chavez said. “We’re going to look at skills, what kind of shape they’re coming back in, and run them through stuff so we pick the right people for our team.”