RCC taps Lucas as new volleyball coach for Eagles
Jul 5, 2018Jul 2, 2018 – Rockingham Now – https://www.greensboro.com/rockingham_now/rcc-taps-lucas-as-new-volleyball-coach-for-eagles/article_3154458a-7e24-11e8-b7a6-f379b8603780.html
WENTWORTH – Rockingham Community College recently announced Tara Lucas will be the interim head volleyball coach for the Eagles this fall.
Lucas played for two years at RCC as a middle hitter before graduating in 2017.
A 2014 graduate of Community Baptist High School, Lucas was an outside hitter. She received the CBS Coaches Award and was a team captain playing under former head coach Hailey Foy during her senior season.
Following her high school graduation, Lucas began coaching travel volleyball in Eden in 2015 in addition to being an assistant coach at Community Baptist from 2015 to 2017.
Being such a young coach was initially challenging because she had to earn respect and command authority of the players, but now she thinks those lessons learned early on will help make her a better coach.
“I learned a lot at Community Baptist as a coach because I played with a lot of those girls. They know how I am, but because I was just a little bit older than them, there were times where I had to tell them – ‘I’m your coach now and you have to listen to me.’ My first year they were conference champions and I think we came in third in state. Then in my second year we won the conference and state and went to nationals in Dayton, Tennessee and came up fourth there, so we ended up having a great season,” Lucas said.
Rockingham Community College Athletic Directory Maggie Murray said she feels like Lucas is a great fit for a program looking to make waves on the national scene.
“She knows the game and is dedicated to the sport and to RCC. She’ll bring energy, knowledge, excitement to our team. We’re really excited to have her on our coaching staff,” Murray said.
The 2018 season will certainly be a challenging one as Lucas has just two returning letter winners back from last year’s team, but she understands, with two-year programs, that is just the reality of coaching challenges at that level.
“Right now it’s a rebuilding year so I’m real excited for that. My goals right now are to make sure that the girls bond well and play as a unit. But my long-term goal is that I want us to win conference,” Lucas said.
She is currently pursuing a B.A. at WSSU. In addition to her studies and coaching duties, she is working at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital as a surgical technician.
“It is a handful, but lucky for me, my job works with me so I’m just really blessed to have a great job that will do that for me.”
The Eagles play in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 Division III Western Carolina Conference from August through October. The 2018 schedule has not been determined.
