Beam brings volleyball legacy to HHS

By Melica Allen
Sports
nwamallen@centurytel.net
HALEYVILLE - Sadie Beam has been hired as the new Haleyville High School volleyball coach. She brings with her a legacy of championship volleyball, playing on Addison High School state championship teams in 2009-10 and on the state runner-up team in 2008.  She replaced Brent McCoy at HHS, who moved to Orange Beach.  
Beam continued her volleyball career at the University of West Alabama. She said her philosophy about volleyball is bigger than a game to her. “I’ve learned through Coach (Pam) Wilkins how important it is to be a good person,” she said about her Addison volleyball coach. “The character traits that you develop through volleyball will help you throughout your life, such as determination, team work, communication and passion. There is so much you can learn to help you grow as a person than just winning games. It is fun to win and that is our goal, but it is much bigger than that.
“I like to make connections with my players, because it does surpass volleyball. Those connections will last a lifetime. I want to teach them volleyball, but I also want to be that role model and mentor for them. I want them to be  better people when they leave my program.”Beam said she left Matthews Elementary School in Northport to come to Haleyville.
She began her teaching career at Meridian High School and then to Hillcrest Middle School, in Tusca-loosa, before going to MES.
“I am beyond excited to be at Haleyville,” she smiled. “I am back home. I have high goals for myself and the girls,” she said about developing her program at HHS.“I have a lot of high expectations, but I know you do not build a program in one year. I want to begin by laying the foundation for my program and be someone these girls can rely on. I want to set the tempo for what we will strive to become and that, hopefully, will be champions.
“I want to teach my girls that no is not an answer that they always accept. I know a lot of them were struggling in workouts this morning, but they pushed through it and that showed me a lot.
“As women, we are more powerful than we know. Your body may tell you one thing, but your mental state can overcome. I want them to be mentally, emotionally and physically  strong. They have to be in today’s world.
“I want them to have passion for what they are doing, whether it is in volleyball or something else. If you work hard enough, you can achieve regardless of what people around you may say.“I want to be a positive influence like Coach Wilkins was on me. I know I can call her today and she will be there for me. It is a real relationship and that is what I want to have with my girls.
“We will be an aggressive volleyball team. That is how I was taught and how I played.  We are going to be loud and stubborn. I want them to know that classifications do not matter. It is not how big you are. It is how big you play. It is heart that matters.
“We are going to lose some games this year, but we are going to be a learning team. We are going to learn from our losses and be better because of it. We are going at it as hard as we can.
“I realized my 10th grade year in high school that I wanted to coach volleyball. Addison is a volleyball powerhouse and I want to build my own program like that. This will give me an opportunity.
“I love the city school system. Winston County  is home for me and hopefully I can build a legacy like the one I came from. We can have a great program here.“Everyone has been so nice and welcoming. A lot of people remembered me from Addison. That is a great compliment. I am very excited to be here and have a very good group of girls. I am looking forward to working hard and them being successful on the court and in life.”