Rockdale Class of 2014 graduate Morgan Laughlin is taking the reins as head coach of the Lady Tigers’ volleyball program this fall and she couldn’t be more excited.
At only 27 years of age, Coach Laughlin already has years of experience as a head coach at C.H. Yoe for one season, prior to leading the Lady Buffs at Florence High School for the past two years. She loved her time in Florence, stating that the only job she would have left for was at Rockdale.
She never expected it to come this soon, though and the timing couldn’t have been better. After the fourth generation Rockdalian gave birth to her daughter just over a year ago, she knew she wanted her baby to grow up in her hometown near her mother, grandmother, and aunt.
Having been impacted by the lessons that sports and her coache s t aught her, Coach Laughlin k new she wanted to coach young people once she graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2018. Her philosophy is simple, asking herself, “How can I help these kids, not just in sports, but other aspects of life?”
Grounded in family and faith, she credits Todd Winkler, girl’s coordinator at Florence High School as “shaping who I am as a coach today.”
Her grandparents, Joyce and Jerry Kirk, are the driving force behind the person she has become. Coach Laughlin credits her grandmother with “teaching me the meaning of hard work, and that you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Laughlin fully expects for the Lady Tigers to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Her focus is to build a culture of positive relationships with the girls on the team and her students. She knows that if she can achieve that, then the wins will continue to come to the team.
In addition to coaching volleyball, she will teach Freshman Focus this year, a class that aids incoming students with the adjustment of transitioning to high school.
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