Siloam Springs coach Rose Cheek-Willis' balance isn't very good because she's still battling neuropathy in her hands, legs and feet. She tires easier than she used to -- a four-hour volleyball practice on Friday was a stern reminder of that.
Those are just a handful of the challenges the longtime coach has faced in the past 18 months.
Cheek-Willis' was diagnosed was stage-three colon cancer in the winter of 2013 and treatment forced her to miss the entire 2013 volleyball season.
But there was Cheek-Willis on Friday, seemingly back to her old self as the Lady Panthers had their first official volleyball practice for the 2014 season.
"I am glad to be back," Cheek-Willis said. "It's good to be around the kids."
The Lady Panthers are glad to have their head coach back as well.
"I really enjoy having her back at practices because she pushes us," said senior middle blocker Baily Cameron.
The Lady Panthers had a workout of more than four hours on Friday to start fall practice. Cheek-Willis was pleased with what she saw from her team.
"Today I think we gained a lot of ground," Cheek-Willis said. "I tell you this group is more athletic than they realize. The biggest thing is they're not real talkative, but they've kind of been coming out of it.
"I think they're going to be a fun group of girls to coach."
The Lady Panthers are coming off a 22-10-2 record in 2013 and 11-3 in the 7A/6A-West Conference -- all under the leadership of assistant coach Joellen Wright, who was acting coach while Cheek-Willis was out. The bulk of the players on that team were seniors and graduated in May. However, a few pieces remain to give the Lady Panthers a solid foundation heading into this season.
Cameron, who was an All-Conference selection a year ago, is one of several seniors the Lady Panthers will count on as they move to the 7A/6A-Central and hope to contend in Class 6A.
"I call Baily Cameron 'the terminator,'" Cheek-Willis said. "She's like a terminator on that net."
Senior defensive specialist Taylor Gay moves to the libero position to anchor Siloam Springs' defense.
"I think we're all just excited to be back out here," Gay said. "Everyone seems to have really good energy and be ready. I'm ready. I can't wait."
Senior Sierra Cifuentes moves to outside hitter from the back row and is expected to have an impact.
"Cifuentes is a surprise because a lot of people thought she just played back row," Cheek-Willis said. "What I like about her is she is aggressive, very aggressive on the net. She's very athletic."
Cifuentes was excited after Friday's practice.
"I was just ready to get on the court again," she said. "The break was good, but I'm ready to start pushing hard so we can go to state."
Seniors Laura Salley will play on the right side while Mirna Torres is a four-year starter.
The Lady Panthers will be counting on several juniors and sophomores as well.
Juniors outside hitter Krysten Hall, hitter/setter Sidney Avery, right side Haley Stewart, defensive specialists Madisyn Fullerton, Kaitlyn Stringfellow and Sam Wetzel will all be counted on.
Sophomore hitter/setter Arika Johnson, hitter Meg Gray and middle blocker Madison Cooper are others that will be in the mix, Cheek-Willis said.
"They appear to be so coachable," Cheek-Willis said. "Of course I've known the seniors. I didn't really get to know the juniors because they were sophomores last year and I missed. I knew the seniors when they were sophomores, and I love them to death. Our upcoming sophomores are a good group of kids."
The Lady Panthers practiced once a week during the summer and also scrimmaged different teams throughout June and July.
"We don't want to practice them into the ground," Cheek-Willis said.
The Lady Panthers recently went to a team camp in Branson, Mo.
"It was pretty good the first few days," Gay said. "The last day was a little rough, but we pulled it together. We're working on it and getting better."
The Lady Panthers were missing Cameron and Stewart at the team camp because of basketball, but others stepped up in their absence, Cheek-Willis said.
"At one point we had all sophomores on the front row in Madison Cooper, Meg Gray and Arika Johnson," Cheek-Willis said, "and we were dominating."
The Lady Panthers open the season Aug. 26 at Bentonville. They'll compete in the 7A/6A-Central with 6A schools Alma, Greenwood and Russellville. The 7A schools will be Bryant, Conway, Mount St. Mary and Van Buren. For the 6A schools, only the matches against 6A competition will count toward qualifying for the Class 6A playoffs. The same scenario exits for the 7A teams in the conference. Only the top three 6A teams and top three 7A teams will qualify for postseason.
Sports on 07/26/2014