New coach Hannah Hamblin ready to revitalize Cavegirl volleyball program

Carlsbad High hasn't had a lot of volleyball success in the last decade.

But Carlsbad may have found a way to turn the program around with the hiring of coach Hannah Hamblin.

A graduate of Highlands University and Kirtland Central High School in northwest New Mexico, Hamblin was a three-year varsity Letterman for the Lady Broncos as an outside hitter. She was named to the All-District team and was her team MVP her senior year.

While this will be Hamblin's first head coaching job, she impressed the hiring committee with her plan to revitalize the volleyball program, starting from the ground up. 

"The committee felt very good about her overall plan and development of the program," James Johns, Carlsbad Athletic Director said. "The program hasn’t been where we wanted it to be. We felt good about her excitement for the program and her plan to move the program forward.

"Off-season is a big part of what she does. She’s very organized and gave us a good big picture. She really covered the program from top to bottom. If I had to identify the one thing the committee were all excited about was that she had a strong comprehensive plan for the program."

Hamblin moved to Carlsbad last year after her husband's control tech job for Chevron required a change in scenery. Upon arriving in Carlsbad she was impressed by the passion the city showed for its high school football team every Friday night; flags up and down Canal Street and everyone wearing their Caveman blue shirts.  

"Nobody did that in volleyball," Hamblin said of the flags and support. "That upset me because I’m so passionate about volleyball. I wanted to know why. I did some research and I just don’t think people are as aware of other sports here as they are with football. I want the community to be here to support us and watch us play some really good ball. I’m here to make this program successful and memorable."

The basic plan is to build the team up from the underclassmen, but Hamblin doesn't want anyone to think this upcoming season is a lost one and still wants her upperclassmen to know she wants them to win now.

 "I still have a lot of faith and hope in my upperclassmen. I think with hard work and them putting in the time we can have a stellar team this year. It’s just going to take a lot of dedication on their part, my part and the community’s part. I don’t see why we can’t be successful in the season this year and make it to state," she said.

Johns added he and the rest of the committee were impressed with her grassroots approach to get the word out to build the volleyball team throughout the community.

"She talked about the spirit and the ways to promote the program," Johns said. "She talked about social media, school and community support. She’s the type of person who is going to work hard to do these types of things."

Hamblin is not allowed to meet with her team officially until July. Her first official practice will take place July 8. However, she's aware of the athletes she has to work with and is getting ready for practices to start.

"We’ve got some great freshmen and underclassmen who are going to be ready to rock and roll this year," she said. "We have some upperclassmen who are some real hard workers."

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Matthew Asher can be reached at 575-628-5524, Masher@currentargus.com or @Caveman_Masher on Twitter.