Photo by Erin Nelson.
John Carroll’s Sara Archer (7) sets the ball up for a teammate in a match against McAdory held at John Carroll Catholic High School on Sept. 1.
Michael Heard has a lot of memories in the gym of his alma mater.
He’s looking to add new ones in the days ahead.
Heard is a graduate of John Carroll Catholic High School, and this fall he assumed the role as the school’s head volleyball coach. It’s his first head job at the high school level, although he has been a club volleyball coach for several years. He has assisted at several area schools, including Oak Mountain, Mountain Brook and Spain Park.
“It’s very personal,” Heard said of his new position.
Since finishing as the Class 6A state runner-up in 2015, the John Carroll volleyball program has struggled to find any consistency, whether in on-court results or in leadership. Heard is aiming to change both of those things.
“They’ve had a tough time these last couple years,” he said. “They’ve really worked, they’ve listened well, they’re coachable.”
Heard admitted it was challenging taking a new job this year, given the state of the world. The team was split into pods over the summer and masks were worn at all times, but participation was solid.
“It was really tough coming in as a new coach in the COVID environment, but the kids have really made it a pretty seamless transition,” Heard said.
The goals for the Cavs are laid out clearly: take care of area play first and foremost. Everything else will fall into place.
“In order to be successful in the long run, you first have to start in your area,” Heard said. “We take a lot of pride in that. We design our goals based on our area matches.”
This season, John Carroll is playing in a 6A area with McAdory, Hueytown and Bessemer City. While the school is classified as a 5A school by the Alabama High School Athletic Association, competitive balance rules still have the Cavs’ volleyball program competing in 6A. But the Cavs were handling the area well, notching a pair of area wins through the first week of September.
John Carroll has five seniors this fall, in Zoey Williams, Riley Kelner, Amelia Ragusa, Erin Jenkins and Michele McCaw. Heard would love to be able to take that group of veterans to a super regional tournament for the first time.
“They’re going to have to be foundation setters,” he said. “I’m their fourth coach in four years here. You can look at that as a ‘woe is me’ type of scenario. I don’t. I’m trying to teach our kids the only thing you can change or that matters is what happens today and going forward.”
Around the court, Sara Archer and Helen Macher are John Carroll’s setters. Kelner and Stella Yester see time as the primary outside hitters, along with Maria Groover, who was battling an injury in September. Jenkins and Morgan Scott play in the middle, an important position for the way Heard likes his teams to play. McCaw and Grace Horton have played as the team’s right side hitters. Ragusa is the libero, with Williams and Josie Scalici playing as defensive specialists.
Heard said the strength of the team is its first ball contact, which should not be surprising given the fact that John Carroll spends nearly half of its practice time on it. He also mentioned Ragusa as a player with college potential, noting that she can cover half the court on serve receive.
Stabilizing the program is one of Heard’s primary goals and he hopes to build a program capable of sustaining success year after year.
