Lewis Announces Retirement From Lady Bees Volleyball

Upperman Lady Bees Volleyball Coach Wayne Lewis informed the school on Thursday that he will be retiring after 32 years with the program at the end of the school year.

The decision comes following a season that saw the Lady Bees fall to Stone Memorial in the opening round of the District 8AA Tournament.

“I just didn’t feel like I was putting enough energy into it,” Lewis said. “I thought it was time for somebody else to step in and run the program, and they have got some really good players coming back, so I didn’t leave it bare.”

Lewis also mentioned some health problems that occurred shortly after the season ended, and some in UHS administration believed that to be a major contributing factor.

“There’s not too many details,” Upperman Athletic Director Nathan Brown said of Lewis’ decision. “I think with Covid and all the added stuff he had to deal with and what we had to deal with as a school, I think he just decided to go ahead and retire and just enjoy his life with his family.”

When it comes to the time Lewis spent with the program, the first-year UHS AD says that what stuck out to him was the ability Lewis had to build quality relationships with his players and their parents.

“Principal Stepp, that’s his big thing here; he pushes for all the coaches to have good relationships with their players and their parents and community,” Brown said. “I think if you look at Coach Lewis’ career here, you will see that he had great relationships throughout his entire career. He was able to build support for his program because of those strong relationships…his knowledge level and ability to coach stems from his ability to connect with his athletes.”

This is something Lewis says he prided himself on over the course of his tenure with the program, as both an educator and a coach.

“I would tell the parents and players that I’m going to do things that you aren’t going to like, but keep in mind, I’m trying to build the program,” Lewis said. “Pretty much, I’ve been successful with that…even when I was in the classroom, I tried to get along with the kids, get to know them and their families, things like that.”

The school hasn’t begun looking for replacements yet, and according to Brown, Lewis has been working with the assistant coaches on the staff to ease the transition for them.

“We’re still trying to honor Coach Lewis and respect what he’s done,” Brown said. “This time of year, coaches are already making out the schedules, so he’ll still have a hand in the program as he helps us fill out the schedule for the rest of the year and transition over to some of our coaches until we can find the right replacement.”