ALEXANDER RISING!

Albany Alexander Hopes Third Time's A Charm

Growing up in southeastern Ohio, no one would have expected Bradd Jeffers to be taking the Albany Alexander girls volleyball team to the state final four for the third consecutive year. After all, Coach Jeffers grew up very poor and worked on a beef farm in his native southeastern Ohio home. Now, in only his sixth season at Alexander High School, the Spartans are primed and ready to capture that elusive Division III crown. Currently, the Spartans boast an impressive 26-1 record with their only hiccup coming to DII Regional Finalist Celina. The Spartans ripped through their sectional, district, and regional, and in fact, have not even been pushed to a fourth set in months. Simply speaking, Albany Alexander is on fire and still peaking. Alexander returns twelve of their fourteen players from a season ago when they fell in four sets in the state championship game to Lima Central Catholic.
Coach Jeffers knows how tough his next opponent is—that opponent is MAC representative Versailles (21-7).
“All I know is they are very big. They run a 6-2 and set it low outside. It is very hard for us to get info on teams. Nobody in our conference plays anyone at all so we are on our own,” states Jeffers.
“We play very fast and serve very hard. People know that but it is very hard to replicate in practice if your team can’t do it. We will be playing against some 6”4 men this week. I can promise you that. It is much easier to replicate size than speed in my opinion.”
Versailles is a very strong opponent, but Alexander has great experience and a great coaching staff and fan support behind them.
“We are a small community, the people in our community really get behind and support the kids,” offers Jeffers.
“Genetically we are quite small and not the most athletic. (We are) Probably the opposite of the MAC schools or Shelby County. When someone has success the community really jumps on board and supports the kids. We appreciate it!”
Alexander has defeated some quality opponents such as St Henry, River View, Frankfort Adena, Amanda Clearcreek, and Wooster Triway.
The Spartans are wasting no time in preparation for upcoming power Versailles. Coach Jeffers admitted, “We never stop working on basics and will be going over all aspects of the game this week, we try to play very fast to make up for the lack of size. We will do some timing drills if Sara (Radekin, setter) gets back to the gym. Passing, passing, passing, passing, defense and serving also.”
He went on to add, “Our practices are extremely intense and very fast paced. We are using two nets most of the time with the varsity team. I believe 100% in quality and quantity reps, and we get a lot of them.”
Coach Jeffers also relies heavily on his assistant coaches for his practices and the upcoming Final Four.
“My assistants are very dedicated and put tons of time in. We take it very serious as do our players. I think that is what makes us successful at the level we are at. One coach cannot work with front/ back row/ blocking/ serving/ transition at the same time. We use all of our coaches and are very efficient.”
While the resume for Coach Jeffers may not be as experience rich as other coaches, he understands that volleyball is more than just a sport. It’s a life lesson all to achieve a common goal. In fact, maybe that is the missing ingredient for some. Jeffers proudly answers, “It has such a broad base as you know. Coaching involves so much more than the sport you are playing. I would say that we start with everything other than volleyball. We will seldom be the most talented team. We have never had a kid get even close to a Division I college look. We can however, consistently be the loudest, most focused, hardest working, best fundamental and disciplined team. That is what we try to do here at Alexander.”
His formula for success must be working. Now in his sixth season at Alexander, he has amassed a whopping 141-17 record, thus producing one of the most impressive program turnarounds Ohio has ever seen in such a short time. Jeffers explains, “It's America. If you are willing to work extremely hard and smart you can get to the top. We live in a great country and opportunity is everywhere, nothing is free that is worth having.”
He also added, “I could go into a long story about developing relationships and starting a club program in the worst area in the state for volleyball. It all boils down to hard work, keeping your eye on the prize and expecting more from these kids than everyone else has. I believe you will never get more than you expect from a young person, and you are cheating them if you settle for less than their best.”
Again, many would have never guessed Bradd Jeffers to be making yet another trek to the Nutter Center, and nor could he. He remembers being offered the junior high 8th grade position as no one wanted the job. Coach Jeffers took the job and went 14-2. Never before had he played organized volleyball nor coached. Following that stint, Alexander’s AD offered the varsity job to Coach Jeffers, much to his dismay. He states, “The next year the Varsity Coaching position was open again for the 4th consecutive year. The AD asked me to try it because no one applied. I refused several times stating that I knew nothing about the game. Eventually he wore me down and I said yes, there was simply nobody to coach.”
Fortunately for Coach Jeffers there was another soon to be star taking a head coaching position at the same time. Geoff Carlston was hired at Ohio University to head their women’s volleyball program.
“The next week Geoff was hired at OU. It took me about 30 seconds to get his number and make the contact. We have since grown to be great friends and he has been a huge influence on my life in many ways. I convinced his fiancé Sara Tibesar to help us that year and gave her half of my $2800 paycheck to help. She is today still one of my best friends. I also called Laura Smith at Adena and asked for help. She is an amazing person and helped me with many ideas. I started developing a summer program very similar to hers. The rest is history,” exuded Coach Jeffers.
Win or lose, Coach Jeffers is a diamond in the rough. He understands work ethic, discipline, morals, and understands his players.
“I love the kids. They give back so much. These girls are extremely hungry and hang on every word you say, trying to get a little better every single day. I have been blessed with kids that are so unselfish and totally team oriented. The best part of my day is walking into practice and working hard for two to for hours and knowing they will work just as hard as me and my staff and never complain for one second.”

Albany Alexander will take action against Versailles at the Nutter Center on Friday, November 7th at 6pm.