HUNTON CARRIES ’06 MEMORIES OF SOUTHSIDE STATE TITLE RUN WHEREVER SHE GOES

Tory Hunton’s face lights up. She’s just been asked about the picture that hangs on the wall at Southside Gym — the one with the 2006 state volleyball champs plastered on it. Her eyes well up. “Teamwork and the mental toughness to push forward, it sticks with you forever,” Hunton said. “It makes me proud to be part of such tradition.” Southside’s 2006 championship run wasn’t supposed to have happened. And for most of that fall, the team was right where coach Steve Haaser thought it would be — stuck between third and fifth place. But tradition never takes a day off. In this case, it didn’t take the YEAR off. “The whole thing about Southside volleyball, you put that red and blue on and you have this sense of pride and tradition,” Hunton said. “Being up on the wall, with all the volleyball greats that have come through there, is one of the things in my life I’m proud of.” Long before she was diving head first on the court, face-planting with all her might to save a point in one of the more unbelievable playoff runs in the school’s storied volleyball history, Hunton was an unassuming nine-year-old taking mental notes. “When I was about 9, Micki Edwards told my mom (Terry) about Southside’s volleyball camp,” recalls Hunton, now 30. “I had never played volleyball; I didn’t even know the rules.” More high school sports flashback Pigtails and all, Tory signed up. “Coach Haaser was the first person that showed me anything about volleyball,” Hunton said. “But actually, before volleyball, our families had crossed paths during piano lessons.” Eight years later, having refined her skills at Chaffin Junior High, Hunton’s tenure with Haaser came full circle on the first Saturday of November 2006 when Southside swept Rogers to complete a stunning state championship run. “One of the things I admire about him was his relationship with his kids and his wife — that’s part of his father figure to the girls (Southside players),” Hunton said. “He never lost his temper, which I think was very important, especially with me. His presence, it really made a point. I remember that day thinking I started with him and ended with him.” Mental toughness Prior to 2006, title runs had become the norm for Southside. The program celebrated five titles alone between 1997-2004. The 2006 season was a rebuilding year. “That was such an interesting season,” Hunton said. “I felt like it was the first season we didn’t just blow everybody away; Southside lost for the first time in a long time. For the first time, we lost to Bentonville, Northside and Fayetteville. As a leader of the team, I felt like I had let everyone down.” If Haaser was flustered, he didn’t show it, Hunton said. “I know he was frustrated, but he didn’t take it out on us,” she said. “He listened to us to how we could make it better. He really valued our opinion. He recognized when something needed to change. That’s not to say that all coaches don’t have that, but I remember him always being very calm.” Pep talk Before Southside’s late-season match with Bentonville, assistant coach Ann Fitzhugh challenged Hunton to take a stand with her team. Soon, the roster, which included hard-hitting Danika Lamons, was about to turn the corner. On the road, no less. “She (Fitzhugh) said to give them a pep talk. They (coaches) wanted us to take ownership of the team,” Hunton said. “That night, things started going our way. We just had this drive as underdogs, because no one expected anything from us. Coach Haaser didn’t act like this is the worst season ever; he treated it like any other team. It was a miracle season. “I get chills thinking about that.” Legacy Hunton now answers to a different name. She’s in her third year of residency at Baptist in Little Rock. But Dr. Hunton still carries the passion taught to her by Haaser and her teammates. “Being 12 years out, he handled that so well,” she said. “It’s harder to be coaching a team that’s losing, obviously. (But) they believed in us to win. We had the heart. I think that’s part of Haaser’s success — the attitude he puts in us. “He expects us to carry ourselves with class.”

HUNTON CARRIES ’06 MEMORIES OF SOUTHSIDE STATE TITLE RUN WHEREVER SHE GOES

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 8/19/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: File Photo