Volleyball season officially got underway Monday when schools in the Alabama High School Athletic Association held their first official practices of the year.

Local teams around the county took the court Monday, including at Selma High School and Dallas County High. For the Saints, the first practice was an opportunity for the team to continue getting to know first year coach Katasha Turner, who has officially been named the school’s new coach.

Turner coached the team during a summer play date a few weeks ago, but at that time said she had not been officially hired by the Selma City School Board.

“It’s still a feeling out process because some young ladies were not there at the play dates,” Turner said. “It’s that getting to know you phase.”

Turner started the practice by bringing the team together and asking them what their goals are for the upcoming season.

After a short discussion, the team ran laps for five minutes. Turner said this week will be focused on fundamentals, but the Saints will also be working on conditioning as they get back to work.

Selma has just over three weeks before their first game against Greensboro. If the players were nervous going into their first practice, they weren’t the only ones.

“If you don’t have some anxiety, I don’t think you’re a coach,” Turner said. “You should always have some kind of anxiety knowing that you have three to four weeks to start to gel a team together, not only for your first game but throughout the season.”

Down the road at Dallas County High School, the Hornets were starting the year with seven returning players and seven players who had never played a varsity level match before.

“We are having to work with everybody so that everyone can mesh together and learn everything we need for them to step up,” said Dallas County coach Linda Moore.

She said the next few weeks will be about trying to get everyone up to speed, with a focus on the new varsity players.

“That’s what the play dates were about for me. Play dates aren’t about winning or losing,” Moore said.  “They’re about what you need to work on, your strengths and weaknesses.”

Dallas County’s first game will be in the county volleyball tournament, which will be held Aug. 27 at Selma High School.