Sep 9, 2022
The Woodlawn High volleyball team has won four straight matches in five days to bounce back from a tough start to the season.
The host Lady Panthers claimed back-to-back victories Saturday in the South Louisiana Volleyball Invitational against St. Louis Catholic and Loyola Prep and added wins Tuesday against Springfield and Thursday against St. John to even their record at 4-4.
“The tournament, I put them in a good bracket against some good teams,” coach Maria Gonzalez said. “That’s the type of competition we need to see, then they had a good practice, and I’m proud of them. They’re playing really well right now. This is how they should be playing.”
Losses to Parkview Baptist on Monday and Madison Prep on Wednesday carried into a slow start to the weekend with straight-set losses Friday to Westminster and Academy of Our Lady.
But Woodlawn was able to rebound and build some positive momentum on the final day of the well-attended event, which brought 20 teams from across the state and strong fan numbers to campus.
“The turnout was good,” Gonzalez said. “Usually that first tournament of the season, Labor Day weekend, is a lot of out-of-parish schools. I think we had four local teams and the rest from all around the state. And it’s really good competition. That’s what I like. That’s how I know we can play. So that’s what I’m excited about.”
Senior Reagan McDowell earned one of the nine spots on the all-tournament team, which featured representation from nine different schools from across south Louisiana.
And the Lady Panthers kept rolling at home from there in four sets against Springfield and three against St. John.
“We’ve been very inconsistent,” Gonzalez said. “And what I told them was we make too many mistakes in a row. We’re going to make mistakes, but we can’t make 10 in a row. If we’e consistent, we’ll be good.
“Elysa (Pitts) stepped up with her setting, and she’s doing well. Karma (Kasubaski), a weapon on the outside, she’s doing well. And Reagan’s been playing like she usually plays. She’s been playing pretty well. Pitts is pretty consistent also. And then, of course, I have my little liberos, my firecracker (Krystel Amo) and my other freshman (Katelyn Reed). Everybody’s doing well. Lacie (Sierra) has been playing well in the back row, and her sister Marie is my other setter and is doing well.”
The Lady Panthers visit Capitol on Monday before returning home Wednesday against McKinley.
Sep 3, 2022
Woodlawn High has named Stefson Arnold as its new boys basketball coach.
The Louisiana native, whose previous head coaching experience included a state championship appearance, officially started Friday and said he is excited to hit the ground running in preparation for the upcoming season this fall.
“First and foremost, I’m thankful to God and for my wife and my kids,” Arnold said. “Through this transition of coaching, I’ve had to lean on them a lot. They’ve been my rock. And at the same time, (principal Scott) Stevens has been great. It was a great interview. I feel like we clicked as soon as I spoke to him. I love what he’s done with the school as a whole. He’s done a marvelous job with the school. And (athletic director Brent) Broussard, we talked, and he’s wonderful. I’m so thankful for him to give me that chance to come and lead the Woodlawn Panthers and be a part of such an elite program.
“We already have a great football team. The buzz is going, and all I can see is Woodlawn just striving for excellence.”
Arnold prepped at John Curtis before playing collegiately at then-USL — now Louisiana (Lafayette) — under coach Marty Fletcher and Delgado under coach Tommy Smith.
Four years at Family Christian as an assistant from 2017 to 2020 and head coach for the 2020-21 season highlight his coaching resume.
Arnold led the Flames to a 27-14 record and Class C state runner-up finish in 2021, including the program’s first victory against perennial power Jehovah-Jireh since 2014.
But Stevens said finding the right fit toward a bright future was prioritized more heavily than past records when sifting through a pool of more than two dozen applicants.
“We narrowed it down based on a multitude of things,” Stevens said. “It wasn’t necessarily historical or what their coaching record looked like. It really was more of who do we feel based on what they submitted to us as far as a resume or (curriculum vitae), how did they represent themselves and how did they stand out as far as fitting in with Woodlawn of 2022.
“We had about four or five that really stood out that we felt would be good for the kids and would respond well to the kids and who the kids would respond well to. And it was tough in the interviews of really narrowing it down, but we’re confident we got the right candidate that’s going to come in and do a good job with the kids and relate to them and get them to really push through with what we’re trying to do here at Woodlawn with the basketball program.”
The Panthers’ proud history — including state championships in 1965, 1999, 2002 and 2003 — was a major draw to the position for Arnold and others.
The new coach said he is eager to push his players toward that ceiling in Louisiana’s highest classification and one of the state’s most challenging districts.
“Just being on the 5A level, competing at a high level,” he said. “Woodlawn has a great basketball tradition, and what it can be is an elite program in the city. And that’s exactly where I’m trying to bring it. And that’s exactly what my goal is is to make it one of the elite programs, like it used to be back in the day.”
Arnold will meet with his his players next week and begin building relationships and getting to know his roster.
A few of the Panthers are already familiar with him, including his success at Family Christian, and are excited to get to work.
“We’re very thankful to have a coach that wants to come in and work with us, and we believe in him and believe that he can take us to the next level of becoming a successful program,” senior guard John White said. “Last year was a down season, but this season we plan on bouncing back. And we’re going to entrust in coach on leading us on that path, so we can prove everybody wrong and show that we’re not backing down from anybody.”
The LHSAA allows basketball teams to begin practice Oct. 11 and games Nov. 15.
Arnold said his evaluation of the team’s personnel in the coming weeks and months will go a long way into determining more specifics of its identity and style of play.
But many attributes of character and effort will be non-negotiable, he said, as they attempt to lay a strong foundation for the years to come.
“I’m tough,” the coach said. “And the thing about it is they’re gonna see that I pay attention to detail. It’s gonna be a fun experience for them. I cater to my team. They don’t cater to me. I cater to what I have, and I coach that way. We are going to be exciting one way or the other. We’re going to play hard. We’re gonna compete. As you know, I have a history of really getting a team to gel quickly. And that’s what my goal is here at Woodlawn.”
Aug 29, 2022
Maria Gonzalez is understandably excited to be back on the bench this season for a wide range of reasons.
The Woodlawn High volleyball coach missed — in both senses of the word — some time with her team last year as she underwent chemotherapy for her battle with ovarian cancer.
But she returned this fall enthusiastic not only for reunion and sense of normalcy with her players, but for the opportunity she and her staff see for a potentially special Lady Panthers group this season.
“I’m so happy to be back,” she said. “It keeps me distracted from thinking about feeling bad or thinking about going to chemo… And they have so much potential, man. They can be so good. And like I told them today, ‘I’m giving y’all everything I’ve got, so y’all better play hard for me.’ I want to be here for them this season. And some days I may be feeling bad, but I’m making it through the season.”
Gonzalez takes the reins of the program back from her father, Nelson Malpica, the Lady Panthers’ longtime head coach who worked with assistant Luis Mendoza to lead the squad through 2021.
And the roster returns a wealth of bodies, talent and experience, as well as some key new faces expected to make immediate impacts.
“We only had one senior last year, so these girls have played varsity and have experience from last year,” Malpica said. “And we have a lot of kids this season. We have a bench now. Before, we’ve had years where we started with only seven or eight girls, and this year we have 32 locked in. And this is basically the first time that we’ve had a lot of people that play club. In the past, we’ve had one or two people, but we’ve got a lot of the girls this year that play club. So that’ll help us.”
Seniors Marie Sierra, Elysa Pitts and Reagan McDowell headline the key group of returners.
McDowell earned District 4-II MVP honors as a junior, and the coaches expect big strides and potential breakout performances from Sierra and Pitts this fall after strong summer showings.
“Then we have our two juniors that have been playing since they were freshmen, Kelis (Conley) and Brander (Graham),” Gonzalez said, continuing to list players to watch. “And then we got a transfer in, senior Karma (Kasubaski) from South Carolina, that last week was her first time playing. And she’s going to help us tremendously once she gets the groove knowing our team. That’s someone we weren’t expecting that I think’s going to help us out a lot.”
The coaches listed a pair of liberos, sophomore Krystel Amo and freshman Katelyn Reed, among the additional leaders of a talented underclassman group.
“(Amo) played last year, played club and came back, and, boy, she is a ball of fire,” the coach said. “And then we’ve got Katelyn Reed, who was student of the year from Woodlawn Middle, and she’s come in, like wow, playing varsity and stepping in pretty well and smart of course.
“We had a very good group of freshmen last year, and we have a bench. We haven’t had a bench in a long time, so we’ve got a lot of options. So, for me, I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people. We are in a new district this year, a tougher district than we were in the past. But I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people.”
Woodlawn’s increased attendance in recent years has returned the volleyball program to Division I, the LHSAA’s highest classification level for the sport.
And the Lady Panthers now have a District 4-I slate that includes St. Joseph’s Academy, Zachary, Central, Scotlandville and Baton Rouge High.
Early-season challenges such as Monday’s season opener against Parkview Baptist will test — and hopefully prepare — the team for what lies ahead.
The coaches praised their girls’ performance this summer and overall chemistry, but now want to see those dynamics come together in action on the court with consistency and against top competition.
And their messages to that end are clear.
“Fulfill your potential,” Mendoza said. “They haven’t fulfilled that. They’re not even close. We told them to hustle and show desire.”
Added Gonzalez: “I think in the jamboree, we got out-hustled… And that’s when I was telling them don’t give up. We were winning and then got down, and they stayed down instead of fighting through it. So we talked a lot about that. Be consistent. If you’re consistent, we’ll be fine.”
