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Luke Graham

Luke Graham's column appears Mondays in the Steamboat Today. Contact him at 970-871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@SteamboatToday.com.

It was never hard to tell how the Hayden High School volleyball team was doing.

One glance at Holli Salazar would say everything.

She wears her emotions on her jersey, and a lot of times last year, Salazar didn't look happy.

She admits it was frustrating playing teams Hayden should beat and not getting the job done. Hayden was better than that.

This year, however, it's easy to tell how Hayden is doing for a different reason.

Plain and simple, the Tigers are a really good team. With first-year coach Greg Johnson implementing a new offense, Hayden's off to a blazing start.

Johnson's brought a level of excitement to the team that was missing last year. He's energetic, knows the game well and has his players believing in what he's doing. It's exactly what Hayden needed.

The Tigers always have had the athletes. A look at the court and the roster tells that Hayden had the potential to be a good team.

With Kylee Sweetser and Salazar - two of the best female athletes in the county - on the outside, and 6-foot-2 Rachael Koehler in the middle, Hayden always was set up to compete.

But with Johnson's enthusiasm and up-tempo style of play, the Tigers aren't just full of athletes anymore. Instead, the team is full of very good volleyball players.

That's the thing with Johnson. He's found a good niche of what players need in a coach. Some coaches are too hard on their players, and it isn't fun. Some coaches want to be their players' best friends and lack the guidance.

When a coach - especially at the high school level - can find that balance, teams usually start winning.

Johnson said prior to the season that he would be fine with losing games early, as long as the team continued to get better. He said he's even a little shocked by the Tigers' record, but he's not afraid to say Hayden is a good team.

Maybe the best example of this has been the Tigers' recent play. The sign of good teams is that when they get down, they battle back, and when they're up, they finish teams.

Hayden has done both all season.

With the season just passing the midway point, Johnson said the goals haven't changed. The team wants to win districts, go to regionals and make it to state.

A year ago, all three of those would have been far-fetched.

This year, they're all possible, and now you don't have to look anywhere to know how good Hayden is.

The team's play, its record and Johnson's enthusiasm all speak for themselves.

- To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com