Photo by Erin Nelson.
Spain Park volleyball coach Kellye Bowen celebrates winning the 2021 Class 7A state championship.
A special season for the Spain Park High School season has culminated in several different honors for the people involved in the program.
Kellye Bowen was named one of the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s High School Coaches of the Year after leading the Jaguars to the program’s first state championship in 2021. Bowen was named out of Region 3 and was one of 38 high school coaches nationwide to receive the award.
She was recognized at the AVCA Convention in December, surrounding the college volleyball championships in Columbus, Ohio.
“It’s a very humbling experience,” Bowen said. “To sit back and think about it, it’s a very humbling experience, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to do that.”
The whole Jags coaching staff made the trip to the Final Four to celebrate the season’s success. Bowen said she feels “a whole lot of gratitude” when reflecting on the years she’s spent building things at Spain Park.
“We had to go through some bad moments and learning moments to get where we are,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without my assistants and the girls who really bought into what we were doing.”
Star player Audrey Rothman has won seemingly every award out there, including the Starnes Media All-South Metro Player of the Year honor (Bowen shared the Coach of the Year award and libero Brooklyn Allison was named Defensive Player of the Year as well).
In addition to local honors, Rothman was named the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, a first-team MaxPreps All-American and first-team AVCA All-American.
Spain Park advanced to the Class 7A final in 2020 but fell to crosstown rival Hoover, which put together one of the best seasons in state history. But in 2021, the Jags would not be denied. They posted a 47-4 record and finished as the No. 5 team in the nation according to MaxPreps.
“It’s very rare,” Bowen said of having a team that special. “When you get a team like that, you have to soak it in.”
Spain Park lost its fourth match of the season against Thompson on Sept. 14, in a five-set battle. That would be the last defeat the Jags suffered all season, capping things off by winning their final 28 matches.
“I thought there would be a couple more hiccups down the road and there never was,” Bowen said. “It’s rare to have a team that puts out that much energy and effort every day.”
Bowen said another reason that made the 2021 season so special was the support she and the staff received from administration and parents.
“That’s why we were so successful on top of everything else this year,” she added.
In true coach’s fashion, though, Bowen has already dived headfirst into preparing for the 2022 campaign. After graduating five key seniors, including Rothman, the program’s most decorated player ever, the Jags will have eight seniors next fall.
“They’re anxious to see what they can do,” Bowen said. “One of the biggest reasons for success this year was role clarity. Everybody knew their role. That’s going to be an interesting thing to see these eight seniors and their roles.”
