By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE —
On paper and in her head, Stephanie Branch quietly took notes while sitting in the stands at Bryan High School on Thursday night. She paid particular attention to the team from Huntsville, because in a little more than a month that bunch will be her’s.
The daughter of a teaching and coaching couple, Branch, 31, was hired this week as the Lady Hornets’ new head volleyball coach. She replaces Brittany Brumbelow, who stepped down from her position at the end of the school year to spend more time with her family.
“I’m excited and nervous at the same time,” Branch said Thursday afternoon before the Huntsville ISD Board of Trustees officially approved her hiring.
“I’m excited for a number of reasons. Number one, I’m glad to be back in the Huntsville area, and number two, having watched Huntsville play the last two years, I think we have a chance to do really well, especially in this new district, and get back in the playoffs.”
Branch spent the past three years at Magnolia West High School, which was a District 18-4A opponent of Huntsville’s. She was a volleyball assistant for the past two years, plus she worked with the Magnolia West track program for three years.
Prior to her time at Magnolia West, Branch was the head volleyball coach at Navasota High School. She also assisted with the Lady Rattlers’ basketball and softball teams.
Huntsville athletic director Marcus Evans said he’s thrilled about the Lady Hornets’ volleyball future with Branch on board to lead it.
“I feel like coach Branch is the person our volleyball program needed, first because of her athletic background. She can improve our conditioning and competitiveness,” Evans said. “Stephanie has an outstanding volleyball resume both as a head coach and as an assistant. She knows the X’s and O’s as far as volleyball goes.
“She also has great enthusiasm and energy. ... I feel like coach Branch will be a great asset heading up our volleyball program, as well as a great asset with track and field when spring rolls around.”
A graduate of Sam Houston State University, Branch said she can’t wait to start her new job. Already, she has cleaned up her office, checked out the Lady Hornets’ 2010 schedule and made a few plans for the first week of practice, which starts Aug. 2.
If she could have, Branch said she would have found a seat on the bench Thursday night and gotten busy coaching.
“I went last week and I’m going again tonight,” Branch said. “This summer league plays every Thursday night in June.
“I’m one of those coaches who is going to get in there with the girls during practice,” she added. “When I see them out on the floor having fun, I want to be in there with them. I’m not just going to tell them something and stand back and watch. I’m going to get involved.”
A multisport athlete who played volleyball and basketball at North Shore High School in Galena Park, Branch said she will talk to the returning Lady Hornets soon and tell them what she wants them to do this summer.
“My main concern in the summer is strength and conditioning. ... As an athlete growing up, that’s where I was, in the weight room, on the track, on the court, on the field playing summer ball, league ball and all that stuff,” she said.
“One thing our girls can do in the summertime is strength and conditioning,” Branch added. “If they are in good shape when they come back to practice, at least they’re not aching, cramping up and getting sick. We won’t have much open gym time this summer because our gym floor is being redone. After this summer league and camp, they’ll all get a three-week break from volleyball, and they need that.
“I have high hopes,” Branch said. “I’m really excited and I have a great feeling about this.”
