HOPE — Year in and year out, not many volleyball coaches in the state have had the constant success than Hauser coach Jeff Case has enjoyed.
Case, who has been at the helm since 2002, now has won 11 straight sectional titles after defeating Greenwood Christian Academy on Saturday. His teams also have won five regional titles and were the Class A state runner-up in 2017.
With many girls coming and going season after season, there can be some rough patches and rebuilding years along the way, but it isn’t that way for the Jets.
Case credits a lot of it to the consistency and stability, starting at the very top.
“Having someone stay for a long time is a positive. I’ve had a lot of great coaches that worked with me, a lot of great coaches,” Case said. “The kids are hungry, and they want to do well, so that helps. A lot of support from our (athletics directors) and playing club ball. Starting up HAVOC (Hope Area Volleyball Club), that was really big in getting them to play and getting them a little more experience playing. It’s bringing a passion to the game and the expectation and working hard and doing things the right way.”
Case built a player-led, coach-taught philosophy. He makes sure that all his players are accountable and to expect a lot out of each other, and more importantly, themselves.
Getting the girls to buy-in is one step, but then there are those times when tough talks have to be made. But Case says that conflict doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
“A little saying we have is, ‘Conflict plus trust equals a search for the truth,’ so if you trust each other, if we can all be on the same page towards a common goal, we can have those hard discussions and stay together as a team,” Case said. “That’s the biggest thing — to get them to play as a team and work hard together. Then, they’re on the right path.”
Case keeps practices intense so that the games aren’t a shock and makes the games a little easier. He said they also look at tapes to see what he can do and show to the players and to get them to respond to it.
“He knows how much he can critique you on, but he also comes back with compliments. He doesn’t make you sit there and dwell on everything,” senior middle hitter Hannah Johnson said. “For a minute, you’ll dwell on it, but he knows you so well that he’ll give you a second and then he’s going to come back with a compliment to make you positive again and get ready for the next play.”
Case started HAVOC, and most, if not, all of his players came through the club. With Hauser being such a small school, most of the students that pick up on volleyball are trained through HAVOC.
Case describes the club like being under one roof and not coming from other schools. He also said he is interactive with the junior high coaches, most of whom were coached by Case, so they’re in the same teachings and philosophies.
“We start them out really young, so they’re getting the experience. The girls are ready to work hard. It’s hard for me to say what would it be if we not had a lot of good coaches to help out,” Case said. “The junior high and even before that, we just get them playing young and getting the experience and just the expectation. They know what we’re all about here. They have that expectation of doing well, and they continually try to raise the bar.”
Case has had many volleyball players through his program as the Jets head coach go on to play at the college level.
No matter how one would slice it, Case’s players, past or present, have been very appreciative to have him as their coach.
“There’s a lot of people that would really benefit from having coach Case as a coach, and there’s a lot of people that would wish they could,” Johnson said. “For us to be able to have him is an honor because he honestly does know what he’s talking about, and he knows how to get you to the next level and how to get you to the best that you can be.”
Senior setter Aunaka Wasil added, “He knows all of his players so well. He knows how far he can push each one of us because he just knows the game so well and knows how we play within the game. We’re so lucky to be playing for him, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
