Tuba City volleyball enters new era under first-year coach Kristen Balcerek

WINDOW ROCK

The yearning to be involved with volleyball never wavered for Kristen Balcerek (nee Becenti).

After graduating in 2013 from Tuba City High School, Balcerek played two seasons at Glendale Community College. And after earning her degree to become a physical therapist, she spent a few years coaching at the club level. She also coached one season at Tuba City Junior High last year.

“I feel like it’s always been there,” Balcerek said of her desire to continue to grow with the sport. “I always try to be involved and I actually have my own volleyball club that I coach and direct. We’ve had players that have come through our program, you know, in 10U, 12U and 14U.”

She co-directs the Tuba City Volleyball Club with her husband, Michael, and they started that club a couple of years ago.

“My daughter plays volleyball, too,” she said, “so I’m always around it even though I haven’t been coaching at the high school level until now.”

Balcerek was hired during the offseason, and she was able to work with her team this past summer.

“I had time to meet with the girls and I got a chance to see what they’re about,” Balcerek said. “We got them in the weight room, and we’ve gone to scrimmages in Kayenta.”

Balcerek played at Tuba High from 2009 to 2012. She was coached by Evelyn Kiyaani her freshman season and then she was coached by Harlan Barlow her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

In her senior season, the Warriors won the Arizona Division III state title, beating Safford in three sets.

“That was the only state championship that Tuba has won for volleyball,” Balcerek said. “It’s been 13 years, and as a player you always want to win a state championship.”

The first-year coach is looking to get Tuba back into the mix as a 3A state powerhouse. For the past decade, 3A volleyball has been dominated by the likes of Snowflake, Chandler Valley Christian, and Phoenix Northwest Christian.

“I think we just need to put in hard work and be committed to the game, and be committed to learning the game,” Balcerek said. “My expectations for my players are pretty similar to what was expected of me when I played. And that includes hard work, having integrity and just having that Warrior mentality.”

Late last week, Balcerek solidified her varsity team and she’s going to carry 15 players with a dozen of those players being fulltime varsity players. Three of her players will play on the JV and varsity teams.

“It was really difficult choosing my (varsity) team,” Balcerek said. “It’s really different from just playing. I mean, as a player, you just play, right? You just have to do your best and play, but as a coach it’s another layer of trying to come up with that final team.

“It’s not fun to choose who’s going to stay, and who’s not going to be on the team,” she added.

This year’s team will be senior- and sophomore-heavy. The senior class include Aubrey Begaye, Kaydence Byjoe, Thalia Clitso, Taimani Tso, and Skylynn Whiterock. The sophomores are comprised of Vanisha Bitsinnie, AuRaiya Granger, Nakota Tallman, Skylar Granger, and Arianna Saganitso.

On Saturday, the Warriors are hosting a four-team scrimmage with Ganado, Piñon and Window Rock. Balcerek is using that scrimmage to get a better glimpse of her team’s potential.

“I’m still trying to figure out our lineup,” she said. “The scrimmage on Saturday is going to be exciting because I feel like that’ll be one way for me to kind of get looks at different lineups and putting some of the girls in different positions. It’s going to be an important day for us in terms of finding our starting six.”

Balcerek has structured her practices based on what she’s learned over the years as a collegiate player and club coach.

“I’m using drills from what I got from Glendale Community College, and I’m using drills that I’ve learned over the past few years of coaching,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is push them to communicate more and have us run a faster game speed. I’m also trying to have them play discipline defense because I feel like that’s going to be a big key for us to win games.”

The Warriors open the season hosting Snowflake on Tuesday, Sept. 2 and Balcerek is looking forward to that matchup.

“They’ve been a force to be reckoned with the last two, three years,” Balcerek said. “I know last year they did not make the state championship but two years ago they won the state championship, so it’s going to be a really big test.

“I’ve seen their roster, and they have a lot of seniors, so I can imagine they have like a lot of experienced players,” she continued. “To my understanding, they’ve gone through a coaching shift. They’re coaches are new, but it’s going to be excited to see what they look like and how our team is going to stack up.”

As for the 3A North Region, Balcerek is hoping they can improve on their fourth-place finish from one year ago.

“With this team, I really do feel like they have great potential to be on top and be the 3A North champions,” Balcerek said. “I really do. They work extremely hard, and I have a lot of upcoming players and new players that are freshmen that just set the tone. They are just awesome players and I feel like my players can make that championship game.”

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