By Moses Leos III
After a month of searching, Lehman High has hired the next coach to helm its volleyball program.
Following the departure of Meagan Cooper at the end of the school year, Lehman High last week officially hired Candace Warr as the next Lehman head volleyball coach.
For Warr, who helms her first varsity volleyball program, raising a program from the ground up now becomes her goal, something she has seen accomplished during her career as a coach and player.
“I’m very excited and look forward to building the program and seeing what (the players) have to offer,” she said. “I hope to build the program and get them going. I plan to be here for a long time.”
Getting the Lehman program to a high-level of play is the focus for Warr. It stems from her high school playing experience, where she was a part of back-to-back state tournament teams at Alvin High in 1999-2000.
Reaching the state tournament in her junior and senior season was a first for Alvin High, according to Warr. She hopes to mimic a similar ascension for Lehman High.
“My aspirations are to have the team go to state,” she said. “We (at Alvin) were the school that had never been to state before…I’d like to see that at Lehman.”
Prior to her hiring at Lehman, Warr worked as the 8th grade head volleyball coach at Paredes Middle School in Austin.
During her time at Paredes, Warr helped instill a culture of volleyball. She said many students and parents didn’t have much experience with the sport.
Slowly, she and her staff began to increase the program’s visibility. That included sparking interest with not only players and parents, but faculty and staff members as well.
Gaining community involvement will be one of Warr’s goals as she takes over the reins at Lehman. With the sport’s relative obscurity, she hopes to instill that volleyball “is a fun sport and it’s something that everyone can get involved in.”
“It’s seeing what it’s all about,” she said. “Sparking that interest is the start of it.”
Warr brings a defensive style to Lehman, which she said comes “naturally” for her. Defending the ball and forcing the opposition to make mistakes is a game plan she hopes to work with.
Working with the athletes and building their skills on the court that is also a priority. For Warr, forwarding the need for players to compete at the club level is a critical component.
Having come from a single-family household herself, Warr understands the financial constraints club volleyball can bring. Having coached at the club level in Cedar Park, Warr plans to work with clubs to help students obtain scholarships to have opportunities for more playing time.
“I know the club volleyball scene is difficult for kids at Lehman,” Warr said. “It’s finding some ways to work with clubs here and get (players) in to clubs so they are not sitting for half of the season.”
Warr inherits a program that’s struggled as of late. Lehman finished the season winless in 14-6A play last season.
Through hard work, she hopes to help the Lobos navigate through a challenging district slate.
“This year, I want to spark the interest in the athletes and begin instilling the hard work that they can attain against the big schools,” she said. “I’ve had teams in the past that were scrappy teams. But if you work hard, have fun and do your best, it’s enough to get a win.”
