england paving way for future lady eagles

Seymour High School senior Megan England made a little bit of history Friday morning when she signed scholarship papers to play volleyball at Tusculum College next season.

England, a 6-foot-3 standout for head coach Ed Irvin’s reigning district champion Lady Eagles, became the first SHS volleyball player to earn a college athletic scholarship.

Gary Householder, the school’s longtime athletic director and unofficial sports historian, said he can’t recall another Seymour volleyball player earning a ticket to play at the next level in his 30-plus years as an administrator at the school.

“I think she’s the first,” said Householder. “That’s a credit to Megan and her coaches. I think there will be even more to come.”

Irvin, who is going into his third season as the Lady Eagles’ head coach after reaching near legendary status during his long career coaching volleyball at South-Doyle, has helped turn the SHS volleyball program into an area powerhouse. He said England has played a major role in the Lady Eagles’ arrival as a top team on the local volleyball scene.

“She’s worked really hard to get to this point,” said Irvin. “She was a big part of our teams that advanced to the region (tournament) these last three years. I’m proud of her and I’m extremely excited for her for earning this wonderful opportunity.”

England, who played volleyball at SHS all four years of high school, said the only thing that would have made Friday’s singing day celebration even more joyous would have been if her late grandmother and biggest fan, Faye Whaley, could have been there to see it.

Megan’s mom, Pat England, said her daughter’s big day would have been emotional for Mrs. Whaley, who passed away on June 19 of last year.

“I believe she would have been in tears,” said Pat England. “Megan and her were always very close and Megan was the one who helped her the most when she was sick. Megan was always at her side.”

Megan England said her grandmother’s memory continues to inspire her.

“She was my best friend,” Megan England commented. “No matter how I did she always told me I did a good job. She was always there for me.”

Irvin feels that, with more hard work, Megan will be able to make a successful transition from high school to college volleyball.

“As her dad and I have said, ‘the biggest transition for Megan in college will be her conditioning and level of consistent play,” Irvin commented. “In high school there were games when she didn’t have to work as hard because she was that much more talented than her competition. That won’t be the case in college.

“But if she makes the same commitment that she made in high school, she’ll do very well. She’s got the size—she’s 6-foot-3 and still growing—and she’s got the heart and personality it takes to make it at the next level,” Irvin continued. “She also has a really good family and a great support system which is very important.”

Irvin said England’s three years of competing on the club level with the Smoky Mountain Juniors was also a key component of her development.

“She played club ball from November-to-May and her skills improved dramatically,” Irvin explained. “Her overall game became better because she was playing two times a week and in six or seven tournaments through the winter months against good competition.”

Householder said a lot of credit for Seymour High School’s first volleyball player to ink a college scholarship must go to none other than the architect of the current SHS program. He said Irvin’s effort to make the Lady Eagles volleyball program coincide with the school’s successful girls basketball program, and his willingness to work with SHS girls basketball coach Randy Moore, has been key as well.

“I’ll start off by bragging some on Coach Irvin,” said Householder.

“He’s just done a great job. He’s helped make our volleyball program one of the two or three best in this area in our classification. He’s done a great job of getting the athletes to come out and play volleyball. He’s worked with Coach Moore on getting some of the basketball players to play volleyball and he’s gone out to the middle school to help get the younger athletes involved in volleyball,” the SHS athletic director continued.

“I think Megan will be the first of many Seymour volleyball players to sign  college scholarships.”