After nearly a decade as a head volleyball coach, Jolee Wilson is returning to the public school ranks with one goal in mind, helping Ropes build on last season's success. Wilson is taking over a team that finished 3011 overall and reached the area round of the playoffs. Wilson believes improved team chemistry, structure and character can help the Eagles compete for a district championship.
Wilson was born in Oklahoma, raised in Odessa and lived in Lubbock for 16 years before becoming a coach. Wilson will be going into her tenth year coaching, nine of which she has been a head coach. Wilson coached volleyball at Plains High School for four years, where she won multiple title games, and Southcrest Christian School in Lubbock for five years.
When asked why Wilson made the change back to public school after coaching private school for a few years, Wilson said the two schools are different worlds.
“First, private schools are governed by TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) and public schools are governed by UIL (University Interscholastic League). I feel like UIL is more streamlined, the communication is better and there are obviously more schools in UIL,” Wilson said.
Wilson continued on to say that the numbers in private schools are starting to drop, resembling public schools. When Wilson began her coaching position at Southcrest, she had 24 girls, this year Southcrest expected to have seven.
Wilson said the Ropes coaching position was a right fit for her due to the size of the school, Ropes is the same size as Plains.
“I’m gonna have the same amount of girls that I started my career with at Plains, so I feel like that part is going to be pretty comfortable,” said Wilson.
Wilson’s expectations for her first year at Ropes are to achieve the goals that her team has set for themselves. The team had a conversation when Wilson was brought in about what they wanted to accomplish this season.
“I have my goals and they have their goals, we’re gonna put those together and hopefully get some more gold balls this season,” Wilson said. “We want to go a little further in the playoffs, and with this kind of talent, I think I can get them there.”
Ropes volleyball went 30-11 overall and 8-2 in district last year, as well as made it to the area round of playoffs where their season unfortunately ended with a loss to Sterling City 3-1.
Wilson said the way she plans to create a more successful season than last year is by creating better team chemistry and having a good structure, which is two of the goals the team had set for this upcoming season.
“I feel like if we can get those two things back with hard practices and me putting pressure on them, I feel like we could go undefeated and be the district champions,” said Wilson. “They have the talent, they just need the structure of the practices and some team building stuff.”
Wilson said she wants her athletes to be known on and off the court for their character over anything else.
“You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have the character and integrity to back it up, it means nothing,” Wilson said.
Going off of having a good character, Wilson’s coaching philosophy is character in addition to work ethic. Wilson believes character assists in an athlete's worth ethic.
“If you do not have a good work ethic in athletics, you won't have a good work ethic later on in life,” Wilson said. “I’m known for being hard on my teams and making them work hard, but it always turns out right.”
Wilson's approach for connecting with athletes, especially as a first year coach for a school district is connecting with them on a personable level.
“You have to realize that they’re young ladies, they're individuals, they all have different personalities and backgrounds. If you can connect with who they are as a person, beyond being a student athlete and you can create that bond with them and develop some trust between each other, I feel like they’ll do anything for you,” said Wilson.
Wilson deems a successful season is where her athletes can learn from their mistakes and failures, and then reflect on them to be better in the next game.
“I mean yeah I want the gold balls, an undefeated season, and to keep my record a winning one, but I can call it a win if I can develop a relationship with these girls during my first year to where they trust me going forward,” Wilson said.
One of the biggest lessons Wilson wants her athletes to learn is that life is hard and not fair, but how you handle it and work through it is what will take you further in life, even if it is hard to grasp at a young age.
Wilson ended the conversation with how welcomed she has already felt through the Ropes community, teachers and other coaches.
“I’ve already been made to feel at home,” Wilson said. “The parents have been so accommodating, the teachers that I’m gonna work with already made me feel like I’m part of the team, so this is a good school district, I can already tell.”
Ropes volleyball will begin its season with a home match against Friona on Aug. 11 at 6:00 p.m. at Ropes.