After 31 seasons, Cindy Elder retires as Rock Hill High School volleyball coach

Longtime Rock Hill High School volleyball coach Cindy Elder has announced her retirement.

Elder, who has been the head volleyball coach at Rock Hill High since 1990 and sustained an era of excellence while she was there, said she has enjoyed her career with the Bearcats but that it is time to move on. She will retire from teaching and coaching at the end of the 2021-22 school year — after 31 seasons as head coach of the Bearcats and 40 years as a volleyball coach overall.

“Forty years is enough for me,” Elder told The Herald in an interview. “It has been very rewarding and satisfying, and I will miss it, but I know it is time to step away. Coaches know when it is time to call it a career. I had this last group of seniors that I wanted to see finish their careers.”

Following her graduation from Winthrop, Elder began her coaching career as an assistant volleyball coach with the Andrew Jackson Volunteers. After two seasons in that role, she moved to Castle Heights Middle School, where she was the ninth grade volleyball coach for several seasons before the Bearcats called her to take over the varsity program.

The first two years at RHHS were extremely tough. Rock Hill went 3-17 and 4-16 in those first two campaigns, but the foundation for future success had been put down.

After that, she has turned out a winning season in all but one year and even won an Upper State title in 2010. Her teams missed the South Carolina playoffs only twice. (And one of those misses came in the season in which COVID limited the number of teams in the postseason.)

While winning multiple region titles and taking her team deep in the playoffs on many occasions, she has coached a number of players who have gone on to play at the college level. She has also been named Region Coach of Year many times and was selected as a coach for numerous All-Star teams.

“I have been blessed over the years with some outstanding and dedicated players as well as some quality assistant coaches,” she added. “They were all part of my program. I do not regret one single day I spent with development camps, preseason and in-season practices, tournaments, region battles, the playoffs and All-Star games. It has been most rewarding.”

Cindy Elder’s favorite moments of 40 years

Every player and coach has their favorite moment or biggest thrill. Elder said that she has had many, but one came to mind very quickly.

“We beat Dorman, which is a traditional power, twice in one season,” she said. “Once was in a tournament, and the second time was in the playoffs. It does get much better than that.”

The veteran coach is looking forward to doing some things she has not done in years.

“I have never taken a vacation in October,” she said. “I am looking forward to going to the beach, the mountains, and doing some other travel, as well as spending some time with my mother.”

In addition to coaching, Elder has been an Assistant Athletic Director at Rock Hill for more than 15 years.

“That was very challenging, but I learned a lot doing it,” she added. “I am glad I took on that role, because it let me see the entire athletic program. It required lots of long hours in addition to coaching time, but the work and people I met and dealt with made it very gratifying for me.”

Elder has been ‘a great mentor’

Ozzie Ahl, the principal at Rock Hill High School, said he was blessed to have someone of her caliber on the staff for so many years.

“She sets the expectations very high in everything that she does,” he said. “She sets them in the classroom and on the volleyball court. She sets the tone in a lot of areas, and she sets a great example for other teachers to follow.”

She will be missed by teachers, coaches, students, and players.

“She leaves a legacy of hard work, caring, and devotion to the school,” he added. “She strives to see that every student she comes in contact with turns out to be a model citizen and community oriented.”

Bill Warren, who is the athletics director for the ‘Cats, echoed Ahl’s sentiments.

“She has been a great mentor to our younger coaches,” he said. “She does things right in the classroom and on the volleyball court.”

Warren also praised her efforts as an assistant athletic director.

“She was already in that role when I got here in 2011,” he added. “She helped me in many ways over the years. I counted on her advice and input numerous times when making some of my decisions. That was most valuable to me.”

Warren accepted her resignation with reluctance, he said.

“She could have coached here as long as she wanted,” he said. “The contributions and the impact she had here over the years will be seen for a long time.”

Ashley Williams to take over as Rock Hill volleyball coach

Rock Hill has already named a successor for the very successful and legendary coach.

Ashley Williams, who played for four years on some of Elders’ best teams and is currently the head JV volleyball coach at the school, will assume command of the program. Elder is very happy with the selection.

“The committee, which evaluated all of the many candidates, made a great choice,” added Elder. “Ashley was a dedicated and talented player. She understands the culture here, and she has done an outstanding job with our JV program the past two years.”

The Bearcats’ JV team compiled a record of 25-4 over the past two years, and Williams, who has developed those players, will get to coach them at the next level.

“I am so excited to follow in Coach Elder’s footsteps,” said Williams. “Ever since I was a player in this program, I have always said that this is my dream job. I am looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence that Coach Elder has established for the program.”

Williams, who teaches Physical Education and Health at Rock Hill, will have 11 juniors as part of her first team. She’s coached all of those juniors before.

“I am currently working on completing the coaching staff right now and making plans for camps and other things,” she added. “This means so much to me to be the head coach of the program where I had so many great memories as a player. I continued to experience great things as an assistant coach and head coach on the JV level.”

It’s true that Elder is stepping away for a much deserved retirement. But when the Bearcats take to the court this fall, you can bet that Elder will be cheering on the ‘Cats from the stands, never too far away from the program she built.

This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 6:00 AM.