New Tift County High volleyball head coach Caleb Dawson with his wife, Breeanne, and daughter, RaeAnne.

TIFTON — Tift County’s volleyball team will have a new head coach, but for the vast majority of the players, this person is someone they know well.

Caleb Dawson started up the middle school volleyball program in Tift County three years ago. Also an assistant soccer coach, he is enjoying the move to the varsity.

“I’m loving it,” he said.

Volleyball is a sport Dawson played as a youth, but not one he embraced until he was a college student at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. There, he began watching games and “fell in love with it.”

At Tift County High, he inherits a team searching for its second state playoffs appearance. The program began in 2013 and under the rules of the Georgia High School Association at that time, automatically earned a state bid. There was a change in that rule in 2014 and the Lady Devils have not gone since.

Dawson is optimistic about the team’s future.

“We’re coming along,” he said. “They’ve worked really hard this summer.”

His goal is not a state championship. Not immediately as knows the program is still very young and still growing.

Instead, Dawson said, “We expect to compete in every match.” He would like to have a winning record this year.

Going deeper into the season is a future goal.

“I expect us in the next 3-5 years to be in that (state) conversation,” he said.

Helping to guide Tift County there are a varsity group of six seniors, six juniors and 10 sophomores, the majority of which played last year. The number of players for volleyball have always been strong.

When he began the middle school team, he admitted to being nervous, but was given plenty of reassurance from Chris Martin and athletic director Rusty Smith. Having that team has been helpful for TCHS.

“We definitely needed a feeder program,” he said.

Though Dawson started the program at the middle school level, he admitted there was a transition between schools. He credits former head coach Dana Fletcher for guiding him.

Dawson said was the biggest change was “learning the technical and the tactical.”

The Lady Devils have already suffered one setback for the season. Cali Conner, one of Dawson’s originals in his middle school program, tore her ACL during a basketball camp at Florida State and will be out for the season.

He does have another basketball player, Annah Daniels, who has stepped up.

“She has brought a spark to our team,” said Dawson.