East Ridge High School’s volleyball team will have someone different on its bench this fall for the first time in 50 years. Terrence Allen will be the successor for Catherine Neely, who announced her retirement as volleyball coach in January.
Allen was a first-year coach of the basketball Lady Pioneers last season. He said he’s coached various sports in his career, including volleyball when he was in Chicago at Austin Career Academy and Fenger Academy.
Allen said Neely, who remains the school’s athletic director, has been a great help to him, whether it’s been showing up at tryouts and lending support or helping him become familiar with the way things are done in Chattanooga.
He said about nine or 10 players are returning from last fall and most of those he’s also coached in basketball.
“Once we get everybody in, I’ll sit down with the seniors and together we’ll come up with some type of goal to set for the team,” Allen said. “I’ll do that as a way of getting them involved in the process. I think they need to be actively involved in the project.”