New Patriot volleyball coach has high hopes

The baton has officially been passed to a seemingly perfect candidate.

Carol Chesnutt has retired from coaching the Homewood High School volleyball program once again — after a two-year return stint — and will be replaced by Krimson White, a former player and assistant coach for Chesnutt the past two seasons.

White, a 2011 graduate from Homewood, called the opportunity “very exciting.”

“It’s almost like a dream come true,” she said. “When I played for Coach Chesnutt, I always thought about coming back and coaching, but you always beat yourself up and think there will be another coach there by the time I get out of school. When it opened up, it was like I was heading back home. It’s amazing.”

White played her varsity career for Chesnutt at Homewood, highlighted by an Elite Eight appearance in 2009, her junior season. She can think of no one in her volleyball experience that deserves more credit for the opportunity than Chesnutt.

“I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for her,” White said.

Once White graduated from the University of Alabama with her bachelor’s degree, she knew she wanted to get back into volleyball. At the same time, Chesnutt came out of retirement. Things worked out for White to come on and help out as a varsity assistant.

After those two years as an assistant and with Chesnutt stepping away once again, White was pleasantly surprised when her name was in the mix to become the head coach.

White recalled, “When they contacted me about being the head coach, it was almost like, ‘Are you serious? Really?’”

As a player, White was a fiery competitor, something that has quickly seeped into her coaching style.

“I’m loud, I’m intense, I can be in your face, but at the end of the day, you know I love you and I would do anything for you,” she said.

New Homewood City Schools athletic director Doug Gann has witnessed that firsthand in his first few weeks on the job, when he stopped by volleyball tryouts to check on things.

“She’s young and has a lot of energy, so I’m looking forward to see how the girls respond to her. The tryouts they had were outstanding,” Gann said.

White also believes her experience as a setter helps her coach all facets of the game. A setter normally takes an initial pass and tees it up for a hitter, meaning that setter is directly in the middle of the action. She’s not going to build a one-dimensional team with her expertise, but use that to construct a well-rounded team.

“We’re trying to win, and the only way to do that is if we’re good all the way around the board,” she said.

Despite being a young coach, White plans on her Homewood teams taking a backseat to no one. A state championship is an aspiration for the Patriots, even if that seems like a high bar to reach right off the bat.

“If you don’t set those sights high, you might as well not be out here competing,” she said.

Part of the reason White believes the team can set such lofty goals is the foundation that has already been set by Chesnutt. The girls that come through the Homewood volleyball program will be pushed not only physically, but in all aspects of life.

“We’re trying to build character,” White said. “We want to send these young ladies out into the community to serve in more than one way.”

White called her coaching staff the “big guns.” Cynthia Padgett, a former player at Kentucky and the wife of current Samford men’s basketball coach Scott Padgett, will assist White with the varsity team. Katelyn Collins remains on staff to coach the junior varsity team and former UAB player Shondra Whitt will lead the freshman group. 

Naturally, White’s name raises some eyebrows, and any publicity she received while she was a high school player largely focused on the peculiarity of it. But now that she’s in charge of a major high school program, her reputation will hinge on her coaching and nothing else.

Now is her chance to take the baton and run with it.