Photo by Erin Nelson.
John Carroll’s Grace Horton (10) spikes the ball in a Class 6A quarterfinal match between John Carroll and Mountain Brook during the AHSAA Volleyball State Championship at the Birmingham Crossplex in October 2020.
Last year was far from normal, but it was certainly a special one for John Carroll Catholic High School volleyball coach Michael Heard.
Heard took over the program at his alma mater and led the Lady Cavaliers to the Class 6A state tournament for the first time in a handful of years. The 2020 team’s success laid a perfect foundation for what he hopes for going forward.
“The thing about last year I take away is that’s a standard,” Heard said. “When you make it to state, it’s always easier to go back, as opposed to the first time.”
It was no cakewalk for John Carroll to advance to state, as the team had to win two five-set matches in order to make it to the Birmingham CrossPlex. But it was worth it.
“It was amazing, because that was the first time we could play in front of so many people, because of the COVID situation,” Heard said. “It was special; it was really special.”
Heard was named Starnes Media All-South Metro Coach of the Year, while two seniors were named to the team as well.
As for the 2021 squad, Heard believes it has the potential to reach those achievements once again, but things will look a little different.
“This team is different than last year,” Heard said. “Last year, we had established leadership. This year, we’re trying to develop that. We’re trying to figure out how this is going to work.”
The Lady Cavs don’t have the height across the board to overpower the better teams on their schedule this year. To counteract that disadvantage, they are aiming to use their quickness to their benefit.
“In this game, you either have to be bigger or faster. You can’t be short and slow; that’s not a good formula. We’re all buckled in, going fast. We’re going to make some mistakes early on. If the kids buy into it, we’ll be a pretty scrappy team,” Heard said.
In the summer months, Heard was encouraged by the team’s willingness to implement that style.
“A lot of my kids are in the best shape of their lives. Everything this year is about footwork. We’re trying to get fast feet, morphing into what we want to be once the season gets a little closer,” he said.
John Carroll has five seniors this year, with Sara Archer, Olivia Hannon, Grace Horton, Josie Scalici and Morgan Scott back to lead the team. There are six juniors: Maria Groover, Hope Lacy, Helen Macher, Piper Metcalf, Caroline Rohn and Stella Yester. Kaitlin Gilchrist and Poppy Moellering are sophomores on the varsity team.
“We don’t have a real dominant player; we have a lot of really good players. If they work together, we can be very successful,” Heard said.
John Carroll enters the season as the favorite to win its area but plays a schedule that features the likes of Homewood, Pelham and other 6A teams. The Lady Cavs are also in several high-level tournaments, including the Juanita Boddie Tournament in Hoover, the Mayor’s Cup in Montgomery and a tournament in New Orleans.
“For John Carroll volleyball, we want to go to state every year,” Heard said. “I don’t want them working as hard as we work just to be OK with getting out of area. We have loftier goals than that ... that’s where we want to be every year.”
