DCHS recently announced the formation of a new girls volleyball program, and last week a new coach for the program was announced. As expected, Coach Danielle Tyson Horton was named to head the new sport.
Only two years ago, Horton became the first female head coach of the Tigerette softball program, and now she will take the reins of the new volleyball program. The program is due to have its first season this summer for the 2024-25 school year. Currently, Coach Horton is gearing up for spring sports with the upcoming Tigerette softball season fast approaching.
DCHS Principal Bruce Curtis made the announcement on February 14, with an assistant coach to be named later.
Curtis said interests in the sport has been growing, with DeKalb the only area school without a program. “We had multiple students come to us about getting a volleyball team started. We have had a couple of girls over the last few years who had gone to Warren County and co-op with them, but we had more and more kids showing interest in that sport so we decided to propose to the Board of Education to start a program. We had probably 75-80 kids who had signed that they were interested in possibly playing so I thought that would be a good thing to give our kids another outlet in which to play an athletic sport.”
Under TSSAA, the DCHS Volleyball program will be in District 7AA with Livingston Academy, Cumberland County, Stone Memorial, Upperman, and Watertown with the schedule following the same as girls soccer. The season will officially begin on July 29, 2024 with the regular season to start August 19, 2024. All district matches must be completed by October 11, 2024. The playoffs and state championships will conclude on October 25, 2024.
The DeKalb School Board recently approved funding for the new sport, allocating $12,460 for netting, jerseys and basic equipment such as volleyballs, etc.
“It’s a process of getting everything ready and getting the gym floor set up for volleyball. We will have to put in nets and things for the nets and stripe off the floor for a volleyball court to get it ready as soon as possible by the start of the season. We will also have to put in two metal inserts for the posts to go into in the floor,” said Principal Curtis.
Horton and her family moved from Louisiana to Smithville during her freshman year in high school, where she joined the DCHS softball program as a player. She said she played volleyball before the move and is happy to see the sport locally.
“I remember them (DCHS) not having a team and as a student, that was something that was sad on my part because it was a sport I loved,” said Coach Horton.
Coach Horton said she believes over time this program can be competitive although there are opponents in the district who have had great success over the years and will pose unique challenges.
“It’s a very competitive district. Stone Memorial, Livingston Academy, and Upperman have all made state appearances in volleyball so expecting us to come out of the gate and be exceptional would be unrealistic, but I think putting us in a district like this will cause us to be competitive and force us to know what we need to do to be competitive. I think we can get there but it may take three to four years,” said Coach Horton.
