Coach of the Year: Wilbanks, Ingomar ascend quickly to top
Nov. 26—INGOMAR — Not many years ago, Andy Wilbanks never would have imagined himself as a state champion volleyball coach. That's because Ingomar didn't even have the sport until 2019.
When the school finally adopted volleyball, which has been growing rapidly throughout the state, Wilbanks was chosen as head coach. He's an old baseball hand who had been Ingomar's slow-pitch coach, so this was new territory for him.
"From the get-go it was a good change, as far as the sport of slow-pitch was dying anyway," Wilbanks said. "It was a deal where it was kind of a surprise at how fun the sport was, first and foremost. It was a very good change for me personally."
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In just the program's fourth year, Wilbanks led the Lady Falcons to the Class 1A state title. He is the 2022 Daily Journal Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Wilbanks is one of several area coaches who have had to learn volleyball on the fly while starting up a program. He spent a lot of time talking to established coaches, like New Albany's Ashley Connolly and Alcorn Central's Eric Lancaster, to learn the ins and outs.
Wilbanks had to learn the positions and their specific responsibilities, terminology, strategy and much more. And then he had to teach it to his players.
"Our girls are usually athletes and are hard-nosed and tough. We just had to figure out how to play it, the fundamentals of it," Wilbanks said.
Several of Ingomar's players came from the basketball team, which means they don't do anything halfway. They spent late nights at the gym working on their own, and that dedication started to become apparent by the Lady Falcons' third season. They reached the 1A North finals that year but, as happened the year before, were swept by Hickory Flat.
"From each year, our measuring stick in 1A was, where are we at compared to Hickory Flat? ... Each year we closed the gap," Wilbanks said.
Ingomar lost a late-season match to Hickory Flat, 3-2. But when the teams met again in the North finals, the Lady Falcons took a 3-1 win, with the first and fourth sets both decided by two points.
The state championship was a relative walk in the park, as Ingomar swept Resurrection Catholic.
The team was led by players like Macie Phifer and Lindsey Dillard, who when they first joined the program knew as little about volleyball as Wilbanks.
"It was foreign, and for all they knew this was just a little backyard game," Wilbanks said. "I don't think any of them knew the level of this sport or how well it was going to take off. Once we got them out here, they just fell in love with it."
