SPRINGDALE — She soars, she scores.
That’s standard procedure for senior Emily Coats, who is a volleyball player and pole vaulter at Springdale Har-Ber. Coats’ goal has long been to play in college, and she’ll get that opportunity next year in volleyball at Arkansas-Fort Smith.
For now, she’s focused on helping lead a turnaround for the Lady Wildcats, who broke a four-game conference losing streak Tuesday with a 3-0 victory over Rogers High. The win came at a good time with Har-Ber (8-7, 2-4) headed across town to face rival Springdale High tonight.
“Emily is a very determined person,” Springdale Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones said. “She knows she has to keep working on things she’s good at and not try to overdo certain things. But I think Emily will do great at the next level and she’s worked hard to get to this point.”
Coats (5-foot-6) showed her determination by returning to the team nine days after she had knee surgery in August. She is also track standout, who jumped 9 feet, 8 inches in the pole vault last spring.
She finished third in the 7A/6A-West Conference in that event and also ran a leg on Har-Ber 4X100-meter relay team.
“Emily has an ability to be mentally tough, no matter what the weather is,” said Har-Ber assistant track coach Jodi Unger, a former pole vaulter at Arkansas. “A lot of vaulters shut down when the weather isn’t perfect, but Emily pushed through and performed. In addition to her toughness, Emily has a charming personality that will win anyone over.”
Coats’ charm didn’t help much in early battles with her older brother, Zach Coats, a former all-state player who is on the golf team at Arkansas. But those pickup games helped her develop some toughness against older and stronger competition.
“We were really competitive growing up and he pushed me to be an athlete,” said Emily, who has been a starter in volleyball since the 10th grade. “I remember getting hurt against him while playing basketball. He was not easy on me at all.”
Coats spent most of last summer playing volleyball with her club team, the Ozark, or working as a lifeguard at Paradise Valley Country Club in Fayetteville. But she also attended a volleyball camp at Arkansas-Fort Smith, which led her to commit to the Lady Lions.
“The coach (Jane Sargent) said she was really interested in me and I took a tour of the facilities,” Coats said. “She called my dad about a month later and offered me a scholarship. I was really excited because that’s something I’ve wanted for awhile.”
Tonight’s game at Springdale marks the end of the first half of conference for Har-Ber, which finished fourth in the league last season. Coats is confident the Lady Wildcats can get turned around and make the state tournament again in Cabot despite some early stumbles.
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be winning,” Coats said. “We need to start clicking and playing together as a team. When we do that, we’ll still be able to reach our goals