Allison Engel, former LHS volleyball player, now participates in the program as a coach. On her team she is known as the hype woman.
Engel was a former volleyball player at LHS and assisted her team as a setter, which as of today still holds the school record for most assists in a career. Her most memorable moment from her career was helping lead her team into a crucial victory against Harrisburg, sweeping them right before the state tournament that year. Although she sometimes wishes that she could jump back onto the court, she still carries who she was as a player through coaching to help her better her understanding of where her players are coming from, which ended up being her biggest adjustment from transferring to a coach.
“[The biggest adjustment Engel had to make in her transition from a player to a coach was] Accepting the fact that I wish I could hop on the court with [them] but I can’t. I also think that being a player not that long ago helps me be a better coach and it helps me relate to [them] a lot. I still carry who I was as a player now as a coach and that makes me better because it helps me think about [them] not just as players but as people,” said Engel.
Engel carries her coaching with her everywhere and thinks about how she can make herself and her players better within every aspect of her life.
“[One element of coaching that might surprise people is] How much I take it with me everywhere because even at school I think about how I can make myself better and how I can make [them] better,” said Engel.
Pressure is something that comes with the sport of volleyball and learning to cope with it from a young age is very important. Throughout Engel’s career, she gained knowledge and confidence that helped her manage the pressure, and now being a coach, she does not cope any differently from when she was a player.
“I feel like I don’t handle the pressure any differently. When I was a player I always felt like it was up to me and now being a coach I still feel like it is up to me. At the end of the day, I’m not on the court playing but it is up to me to be my best self as a coach and practice what I preach,” said Engel.
Engel grew up in the LHS community thanks to her older sister who inspired her to start playing volleyball. She started watching LHS volleyball from a young age, so this program has always meant a lot to her.
“It means a lot. I watched my sister play here when I was 7-years-old. I came to every game and I was very involved with this team. Playing here myself and now coaching is just kind of a full circle moment and it means a lot,” said Engel.
