Allison Byler remembers her senior night volleyball game like it was yesterday. The crowd was filled with family, friends, teachers and other supporters who watched her grow up in the Augusta Christian school community. To end that night with a five set victory over Hammond, it was a moment that lingers in her mind as one of the most memorable during her playing career for the Lions.
Fast forward nearly a decade and Byler finds herself in that same gym often. Only this time, it’s as the head coach of Augusta Christian’s volleyball program. The Class of 2017 alumna took the job this past offseason, returning home after spending the better part of ten years playing and coaching volleyball at the collegiate level.
While coming back home wasn’t in Byler’s
plans, the opportunity to help rebuild the program that built her was something she couldn’t say no to.
“I had been coaching [at the] college level and was absolutely loving it, but really just missed home, missed family,” Byler said. “I got to talk with the administration that they’ve brought in for the school, just like what their goal is for the school and for our athletic department. They were able to make it work and got me really excited about the future.”
Following high school, Byler took her talents to Spartanburg Methodist where she was an outside hitter for the volleyball team. After graduating college she’d go onto build up her lengthy coaching resume that includes stops at Southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville, South Dakota and Morehead State. Many of those stops for Byler coincided with conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances.
Typically, the trajectory for most coaches is going from high school to college. Byler’s seemingly backwards choice didn’t appear so in her mind. For her, she believed that no matter what level she’s at, she’d be able to do what she loved; build relationships and create bonds through the game of volleyball.
“As a coach and as a player, the most influential thing for me was the coaches that I had growing up, specifically the people that coached me while I was here at this school and created my love for the game,” Byler said. “So the idea of getting to come back and do that for girls, and I think it’s just so much bigger too at Augusta Christian for the other things we’re able to provide our students.”
Part of the deal for Byler’s homecoming was that she’d be in charge of the entirety of the volleyball program. Not only is she the head coach of the varsity squad, but she also works with the junior varsity and middle school teams as well. Over 30 student-athlete’s make up the three Lions squads.
Being able to have an alumna at the helm of what many hope to be a transitional period for Augusta Christian volleyball has made a difference for many around the program.
“It’s perfect. She’s slid back in seamlessly to the [Augusta Christian] community,” Bill Brindley, athletic director at Augusta Christian said. “I really think the sky’s the limit with that program. I think she is going to turn that program into a juggernaut. She is a fantastic coach.”
“I think it really shows the community that Augusta Christian’s all about,” Emma Hughes, a senior outside hitter for the Lions, said. “She was willing to come back and we just really appreciate all that she sacrifices to be here with us to help us grow.”
Early returns in the Byler era have shown promise. The squad sits at 4-4 through the first week of September after winning their first three games of the year. But even if the Lions don’t go on to win a SCISA state championship this season, Byler is in this for the long haul.
With her fingerprints all over the program, she hopes that she can develop talent and continue to strive for success on the volleyball court. But for Byler, her calculation for what success looks like during her time as head coach won’t just be determined by wins or losses.
“Ultimately, I want these girls to still be in contact with me 10-15 years from now, at their weddings and telling me just how they met some of their best friends and had some of their best memories while they were playing in this program,” Byler said. “And to me, that’s how I’m going to measure if we were successful or not.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Christian alumna Allison Byler returns to lead volleyball program
