The Spectator The independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University
Valdosta State volleyball Head Coach applications completed by hopeful candidates are piling up however filling the shoes of the teams’ irreplaceable predecessor won’t be easy.
Blazer fans are still digesting the bittersweet news which came roughly a month ago that Sia Poyer has accepted the same position back home at his alma mater, Eastern New Mexico.
This of course is only sweet because it obviously is the best and most beneficial career move for the Poyer family.
I didn’t have the pleasure to be in his presence as much as his players and friends but enough to get a solid understanding of his character.
Sia possessed a type of individuality that comes around every blue moon.
Outside hitter Kelsey Kovar can speak for her teammates too when she says “He’s really chill and knows how to have fun but when he wants to get something done, he knows how to get it done.”
Always friendly yet always assertive.
Since the first day I met him and approached him with interview requests, unlike other coaches, he treated me with open arms as if we’ve known each other for years.
I appreciated the welcoming attitude then and do now more than ever.
From time to time, he would later be comfortable enough to kindly mention to me that his team wasn’t getting enough publicity in the paper.
A coach that focused more on the development and growth of his players than what the win/ loss column looked like.
Over the last two seasons, he helped mold eight of his players to all-conference honors.
He now says farewell after eight seasons at the helm of the volleyball team.
Although during his tenure his teams’ couldn’t ever seem to get out of the muck of the difficult Gulf South Conference led by powerhouses West Florida and North Alabama (Both teams combined have won seven of last eight championships), it doesn’t taint his legacy in the slightest that he will now leave behind.
He has improved the program immensely during his time at VSU and we can expect him to do the same back at ENMU.
“I’m super excited about getting Zia volleyball back to being one of the elite teams in the LSC and back to the NCAA Tournament. I also wanted to say thank you to (Valdosta State athletic director) Mr. Reinhard and the great folks at Valdosta State University for my eight wonderful years as the head volleyball coach at VSU,” Poyer said in an ENMU press release.
Sia spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach at ENMU prior to VSU, where his team got as far as reaching the Division II Regional tournament in 2004.
The Valdosta community and I wish the best for Sia, a great coach and even better man.
This wrap-up brought to you by Sports Editor Eric Jackson.
