Sarah Fugate remembers being impressed by the Wyoming Area girls volleyball team while serving as Coughlin’s final head coach last season.
Now, Fugate gets the chance to see up close.
The former Wyoming Valley West player was appointed June 26 to take over the Lady Warriors program.
Fugate, who has been leading conditioning drills for nearly a month, will run her first official Wyoming Area practice Monday.
“I remember coaching at Coughlin and playing Wyoming Area and seeing how good those girls were,” Fugate said. “A lot of them are seniors now.
“They have a good varsity team, a good senior class. I’m very excited for the season to start.”
Fugate landed the Coughlin head coaching job just three years removed from her high school graduation. When Coughlin, GAR and Meyers sports programs were merged to become Wilkes-Barre Area, she was named associate head coach – second in command – of the Wolfpack.
Wyoming Area is coming off an 11-6 season in the Wyoming Valley Conference and a trip to the District 2 Class 3A playoffs where it lost to Tunkhannock in the quarterfinals.
“I was super excited to be the associate coach at Wilkes-Barre Area,” said Fugate, who also served as an assistant coach at Coughlin for two years. “But, when I saw that this job was open, I think every coach’s goal is to be a head coach, especially after you have already been one.”
Fugate has that chance after being selected to fill the opening left by Brian Reese’s resignation.
