Andie Freedman is the head volleyball coach and a social studies teacher at Homewood High School. In the last four years, the Homewood High School volleyball team has had two sweet 16 appearances, one final four appearance and one area championship win. In that time, four players have been selected for the All-OTM team, two players were selected for the AHSAA First Team All-State, two players were selected for AVCA First-Team All-State, one player was named to the North-South All-Star selection, one player was selected to the Super Regional Team and five players have continued their volleyball careers at the collegiate level. Here, Andie describes what makes a winning team and the camaraderie between teammates.
What is the most rewarding aspect of coaching volleyball at Homewood High School?
The community at Homewood is very special. The engagement and unwavering support is truly unmatched. Being a part of this community and having the opportunity to impact the lives of student athletes is very rewarding.
What tactics, training or types of character-building initiatives will you be implementing to help your athletes continue to be successful?
It’s important that each player in the program feels valued, connected and supported. We have a big sister/little sister program to facilitate mentorship in the program. We do team bonding nights and plan events where the community can come show their support.
How would you describe last season in terms of camaraderie between teammates, and how do you plan to maintain such standards in future seasons?
We had five seniors last year that were all great athletes, students and role models. We have leadership programs at Homewood such as “Team Homewood” that cultivates leadership skills and mentoring, specifically when upperclassmen mentor incoming ninth graders in the program to help make and maintain those connections. Team bonding is also an important part of building relationships, including those with the middle school teams. We host a pre-season program scrimmage, where we invite the middle school to come to the high school and play with us.
What is your favorite volleyball move and why?
Diving is my favorite volleyball move because part of our identity as a program is to play relentless defense. This also symbolizes the mentality that we try to instill in the players which is to fully pursue every ball as a team.
Which players would you like to give a shout-out to?
We believe leadership comes from the top. I’d like to give a shout out to the three seniors, Carson Jarmon, Mira McCool and Liz Cleland. All of these players are extraordinary young women that are leaders on and off the court.
Homewood High School students who are interested in trying out for the team can email Andie at afreedman@homewood.k12.Al.us for more information.
