Anyone who knows Seymour volleyball coach Angie Lucas knows she didn’t get into coaching just to win games.
Yes, they’re a nice side effect to the job but it’s not her primary focus.
However, last Saturday, Lucas hit a major milestone in her coaching career at the Franklin Invite when her team defeated Southmont in straight sets. It gave her 600 wins, a mark not many coaches can say they’ve hit in their careers.
"I don’t do this for the wins and everybody knows that," Lucas said. "It’s more about the school and the program.
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"That’s what’s more important to me than the actual award of getting 600 wins."
The win over the Class 2A Mounties may have not been too surprising to Lucas but when her players unfurled a banner congratulating her on the achievement, she admitted it caught her a little off guard.
"I had no idea," Lucas said. "I’m really not an emotional person but that was very touching. I know the parents were a big part of that and they got together to plan that ahead of time.
"It was very nice surprise."
Lucas has been coaching high school volleyball in Indiana for nearly three decades, almost all of them at Seymour High School. She had a three-year stint at Covington High School before she returned to the helm of the Owls’ program.
There have been plenty of achievements and milestones that litter the trophy cases at the high school but getting win No. 600 is close to No. 1 on the list.
"Well, it’s pretty high up there," Lucas said. "When you first start out, you don’t think about those wins and, even now, I don’t really think about the wins as much as I think about what it means to the program."
The 2019 edition of Owl volleyball has had its trying moments this season, but that hasn’t hurt Lucas’ drive and passion to coach the team and get the best she can out of the players. The kids are, after all, one of the many reasons she does this job.
There are no easy games on the schedule for the Owls.
No automatic wins, no they-should-win-that-one games, and that’s the way Lucas wants it. To her, in order for her kids to be ready for the postseason, they need to be ready to face tough teams.
And there isn’t a shortage of tough teams in the Owls’ sectional. Not with the likes of Floyd Central and Providence lurking about.
"Really good teams with really good programs are what I want on the schedule," Lucas said. "Because that’s how we get better."
In spite of the injury and illness bugs hitting the Owls, Lucas says her kids haven’t stopped working hard in practice to make sure they get better every day.
"I love how hard these kids have worked, battled and have wanted to get better," Lucas said. "Playing at a 4A school is pretty intense, the level of competition is really intense and it’s something these kids have bought into.
"They want to get better and do the best that they can."