The biggest change ahead for Putnam County High School (PCHS) volleyball will be replacing Francisco Aguirre, as he has stepped down as head varsity coach, sponsor of the boys’ volleyball club, and assisting with the JV girls’ squad.
“I have been a head coach at Putnam for three years. My final words are that I am retiring from being a team coach with the satisfaction of seeing the program grow during these three years,” Aguirre said.
He added that he’s proud to leave the program in a position where opposing teams now want to play against Putnam and respect its talent on the court.
“I am taking a break from being a coach because I want to dedicate time for myself and my family,” Aguirre said. “I also think it is important that the program has a new face that can direct the program. I believe that processes have a beginning and an end. My process with the volleyball program at Putnam has come to an end for the time being.”
The Putnam Lady Eagles Varsity squad has steadily grown in strength and moved up in the region each year, holding first place in region for most of the season; however, finishing fifth.
“It is not something we expected but that was the result of the effort, dedication, and commitment that the players showed during the Region Championship,” Aguirre said.
“As coaches, we work for a better result, but the result often depends on the players to go beyond the coaches’ expectations. This season the team had a great improvement, the team managed to show what it can play; [but] there are many things to improve, from the aspect of physical conditioning to improving the playing techniques. But in general, this year the results and progress of previous years were observed.”
The growth of the PCHS volleyball program isn’t solely at the Varsity level. This year, Putnam had a very strong JV squad led by head coach Amaya Banks, who also served as assistant varsity coach and JV assistant coach Rakeena Griffin.
When asked about the experience of first-year coaching, Banks said that one major takeaway for her was “learning how to have a balance between pushing my players while also extending grace to them.
“Sometimes I think as coaches we can get so caught up in the level our players may not be performing at yet, but I’ve learned that trusting the process and encouraging them along the way is the best way to approach coaching,” Banks said.
The JV Lady War Eagles' second-place region finish represented the first award in the history of the JV program at Putnam.
“The girls are hard workers and they care about this sport and each other very much. That in itself is very hard to find in a team,” said Griffin. “They grew a lot throughout this season … a big plus for the team was an improvement on the defensive end for Varsity and better attacking the ball on JV. There is always room for improvement, and it is important for us as coaches to push [the players] to be better and raise the standard for Putnam County volleyball. That is the goal from here on out.”
Griffin will be taking over the boys’ volleyball club in January as well as returning as assistant coach of the PCHS girls’ squads.
Banks will be heavily involved with all Putnam volleyball programs and Aguirre said he will help in the transition for the squads amid exciting news of the possibility of growing the Putnam County volleyball programs even more, with the possible addition of a middle-school team, though nothing has yet been confirmed.