ETV News stock photo by Jeff Barrett
The Lady Spartans will start a new regime under first-year head coach Ethan Migliori. Bumps and bruises are normal for anyone taking over a program, but this year will provide even more difficulties.
“It will be a challenging year for us,” began Migliori. “First and foremost, all the courts at the school are torn up.” Emery will be without a home as construction continues on the grounds. The team will practice in both Huntington and Ferron, but the quality of those courts has fallen over the years. In fact, Emery will play all its home matches in Price. “I’ve been in communication with Pete [Riggs, Carbon’s head coach,] and he has been very gracious,” remarked Migliori.
As far as the team construction goes, there are a number of players returning with varsity experience. That will certainly help the first-time coach. “Overall, their fundamentals are good.” Migliori credited Gwen Nielson and her staff for their hard work in the past. He continued, “We have four seniors, but the majority are juniors and sophomores… We are a very young team. That gives us a chance to develop young players; I’m excited for that. We have some freshman that show great potential. It will be fun to see how they develop over the years.”
The region schedule will have its own tests. “Carbon is always solid, Richfield is very solid. I’m assuming Canyon View will be challenging for us and Moab is hit and miss,” commented Migliori. “Our goal is to master all the skills. For our forehands to be consistent, our backhands to be consistent. We also want our serves to be in 50 percent of the time, the first time.”
Emery is focused on building the team and continuing its development while competing this year. “I’m always optimistic,” declared Migliori.