HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Hanceville has a new head coach taking the reins of the varsity volleyball program. Morgan Hammock is replacing Candice Grochowalski, who will be coaching the JV team and she shared her excitement about the job opening and what all she learned from coach Grochowalski.
“I met coach Grochowalski, who’s the counselor here now, through travel ball and she’s the one that helped me get started coaching here. Two of the biggest things I’ve learned from her is empathy and patience. She’s so patient and empathetic with the girls. She’s the best. I learned a lot from her,” Hammock said. “It’s still sinking in. We went and played a playdate at West Point the beginning of July. That was crazy, just being on the sidelines coaching. I guess it really sank in when we went to camp last weekend at Middle Tennessee State University. We spent the weekend there at team camp and I guess hearing them refer to me as Hanceville’s coach Morgan; that just really sank in then.”
She talked about the difference between being a player and being a coach as well as what she’s learned since taking over the Lady Bulldogs.
“When I played, I could just let loose and just play, but coaching, I feel like if we lose, it’s my fault. I just feel more pressure on me coaching because ultimately, at the end of the day, I play a huge role in it,” Hammock said. “First off, I went to a different school and every school’s got a different culture and a different feel. First off, learning that and how different it is from what I’m used to. I have learned how to coach these older girls; that’s been a big jump, but I’m excited. They’re doing awesome.”
Morgan is so happy by how much the girls are progressing already, and they’ve soaked up so much from her so far.
“I think they’re progressing really well. I’ve thrown a lot at them in a short amount of time. We’ve changed rotations. That’s a lot on a player at one time, and they’ve handled it all like champs. They’ve worked hard. We were at camp last weekend. We left Saturday morning. We played Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We came back and practiced Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week, so they haven’t had an off day in about a week. They’ve handled it like champs. They work hard, they really pay attention, and they’re like little sponges. They’re soaking up everything I’m throwing at them. They are night and day different. The improvement has been insane and remarkable. It’s amazing.”
She added,
“I come to this school where the program’s fairly new and I’ve thrown so much at them. I’ve ran it like I would any other place exactly the way I’ve wanted to run it, and they’ve just taken it and run with it. They get it. Their volleyball IQ’s pretty high up there. They really understand the game and it’s more about sharpening their skills; they’ve done an excellent job at that. They really just take everything I throw at them, and they take it and run with it. They’ve done an excellent job with it.”
She watched some of their games last year and took away a very important difference between last season and this season. She is now living her dream of being the head coach.
“Last year, the team was pretty young, and we have four juniors this season. Last season, they were all sophomores. The team was pretty young last year. The biggest jump that I see between last year and this year is experience. They’re more experienced with the sport. They’ve had more games, more touches, more reps, so that goes a long way,” Hammock said. “It has been my dream to become a head coach. I just feel like I was very apprehensive to take the job because I’m so young. This time three years ago, I was in their position playing. I really debated back and forth about whether I should take the job or not because I’m so close to their age, but I just feel like the good Lord put this opportunity and this phenomenal group of girls in my life. I really feel like He put this position and opportunity in front of me for right now with this group of girls. It’s for a reason.”
Morgan talked about what all she’s been teaching the girls and the goals for this upcoming season.
“We went back to the basics, the basics of the basics. We just went back and revisited footwork and ball control. I feel like the biggest thing that we’ve really worked on has been playing as a team. Individually, their skill sets are great, but most of these girls play basketball, so with any sport, each girl brings a different set of skills into the game. How do we take this skill set and this skill set and make it work together? That’s what we’ve done a lot of: How do I take your skills and your skills and put it together to get us a win?” she said. “My goal is to make it so fun to where they look back and be like, ‘Oh yeah, man. In high school, I played volleyball with my friends and that was so fun’. My biggest goal for these girls is I want to teach them how to carry yourself and act like a young woman. I do want to teach them volleyball, absolutely, but most importantly, I want to teach character development. I want them to walk away and know how to hold their head high, how to rise to the challenge and how to face adversity like a young woman.”
She thinks this team will be very special to watch this upcoming season and she had so many role models during her playing days.
“What will make this team special to watch is our team chemistry. They have team chemistry like I’ve never seen. They’re all best friends on and off the floor and they’re funny. I think that is what’s going to make it incredible to watch, and they’ve got grit. These girls have got some grit like I’ve never seen. They give me their all every practice, every game, and every touch. They give me their best,” she said. “Good Hope’s coach Natasha Holder was a great, positive influence in my life, Tiffany Ellis (JV coach) and Katie Clowdus (travel ball coach). I really feel like all three of them brought such different things to me. Coach Holder taught me how to be tough, how to rise to the challenge, and have the motto of, ‘I’m not afraid. I’m not going to back down’. Katie was my travel ball coach and she taught me how to love the game. Her and Mrs. Ellis, they helped me fall in love with the game. They taught me why it’s so fun and why I can’t stay away from it. All three of my coaches were big influences in my life. Coach Holder was a huge one. I played for her for the longest, so she’s been just a big, positive influence in my life, more than just my athletic career. Personally, she affected me positively.”
She talked about what she’s looking forward to the most in her first season as head coach. She has seen the younger players improve so much during the summer.
“The biggest thing is just seeing their improvement. They have improved so much already. We’ve won more games this summer than they won last season. We’ve played some tough competition. We went to Wallace’s camp too and we played huge schools there too. I’m excited to see how much they improve from start to finish,” she said. “It has grown so fast. Every girl brings something different, but the younger girls, they bring some enthusiasm and some spunk into it. They have these huge personalities and they’ve really brought more than just athleticism. They’re very athletic and their skill level is up there, but they’ve brought a whole lot of spunk.”
Morgan has already made a huge impact on her team in her short time as head coach and talked about how important that is.
“To me, that’s everything. I want to teach those girls how to play volleyball and I want to see them improve, but to me, it’s more important to teach them character development. I guess I have influenced them a lot, because we were at practice the other day, talking about social media, and how important it is that you act right on social media. Me and coach Grochowalski asked them who was their most positive influence in their life, and over half of them said it was me. I’m their example. When I heard them say that I teared up. It makes me emotional. It puts pressure on me, because I’ve got eyes on me, but at the same time, it makes me feel like, ‘Okay, I’m doing what I said I was going to do’. I’m fulfilling that. It motivates me to be a better person. They motivate me to be a better person. They motivate me as much as I motivate them.”
Morgan wouldn’t be where she’s at right now without an amazing support system behind her.
“I have a heck of a support system. My mom, dad, sister, and my whole family are amazing. They all pitch in and help out by being there in the stands cheering me/us on, helping me plan things, or carrying my ball cart and balls. Izayah has also been one of my biggest supporters since I got started, playing and coaching. He looked at me one day and said, ‘You’ll coach Hanceville’s varsity team one day.’ God has really blessed me with them, and without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today, for sure.”
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