Lady Rattlers looking to take teams by surprise in 2020

Growing up in a house with four sisters, Jared Te’o knows how important it is for women to stand strong together.

The new San Marcos head coach’s upbringing in a household full of women set an early precedent for him to get women to believe in themselves at a young age. Before even worrying about the X’s and O’s, Te’o has it plugged into his players’ heads that they are strong, young women and that confidence breeds trust and a winning culture in the gym.

“It’s huge. I’ve coached women’s sports for a long time and I think, not just women, but in general, we could all support each other. I just want them to realize the outside world, we can’t control, but in our gym, we can always control supporting and empowering each other,” Te’o said. “So it’s something I’m passionate about and I think that it only helps build the culture with nine, 10 other players who support you on and off the court. It speaks volumes.”

Even though Te’o is a fresh face to the program, he returns some familiar pieces of the puzzle, including senior outside hitters Layla Diaz and Riley Dow, senior and junior middle blockers Samantha Booth and Emery Jones, respectively, and senior Julia Antu — who’s finding a new home this season as the team’s libero.

With the loss of former outside hitter Jordan Helbig, the team brought in junior Maggie Walsh to keep the outsides of the offense dangerous. Maggie transferred from Denton Guyer along with her father, new San Marcos athletic director and head football coach John Walsh. She brings a Rattler-like striking swing and was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)’s Phenom List this summer.

“With Maggie Walsh moving in, she’s obviously a huge piece and Layla Diaz is a very underrated player,” said the first-year coach. “What’s so great is Maggie moves in with a lot of focus on her — rightfully so. But I think where we’re gonna surprise people is all the kids at San Marcos who they’re not expecting.”

In order for outside hitters to be successful, it all starts with the pass. Riley Dow’s teammates praised her ability to get her playmakers the ball.

“I never knew the girl could pass the way that she is passing right now,” Diaz said. “I don’t think she was able to highlight that part of her game last year because she was a right-side but she always gives me a good pass.”

Playoffs continue to be the goal this year. Separating from some of the best teams in San Antonio, the purple and white still face stiff competition.

San Marcos will join the multi-sport powerhouses of Austin Westlake, Lake Travis and Buda Hays in District 26-6A. The Cavaliers of Lake Travis, after a 16-2 district championship run, return junior outside hitter Jamison Wheeler, who is a year removed from her MVP campaign. Four schools in the district won 20-plus games last season, so switching districts didn’t make it any easier on the Lady Rattlers. But this year, the girls want everyone to forget the losses of the past and focus on this season’s future successes.

“I have a really good feeling, we’ve been playing a lot better together. Our connection has grown a lot over these last couple of years playing together, so I’m very excited to play against this new district,” Booth said. “We’re known for not having the best seasons but I expect this year that we have that drive throughout the season. And even if stuff goes wrong we need to pick ourselves back up and keep going.”

The Lady Rattlers play in two scrimmages this Saturday on the road versus Cedar Creek and Marble Falls at 10 and 11 a.m., respectively. Their first official game takes place on Sept. 15 inside the Snake Pit against Hendrickson at 6:30 p.m.

The team is excited to show off its new strength under Te’o’s guidance.

“I’m ready,” Diaz said with a fierce look.