Ashley Carter is all in as new Cardinal volleyball head coach

Ashley Carter is 5-feet-3 inches tall.

“If you play volleyball, you can hit the ball. We hit the ball at our players. Boxes are our friends,” Carter said.

Carter has that “All In” philosophy as Newton High’s new head volleyball coach. The second-year NHS social studies teacher was named to the position in May. She and her coaching staff of assistant coach Courtney Allen, junior varsity coach Kristina McNew and freshman coach Mallory Sturtz have worked with the Cardinals this summer in open gyms.

“We had a great turnout to open gyms this summer. We had open gyms twice a week in June then went to four times a week in July,” Carter said. “The girls lifted with Cardinal Power during the summer. We averaged 25 to 30 girls for our open gyms. It was great to see that many girls choosing to come in and work.”

Carter, who graduated from Oskaloosa High School, knew she wanted the head coaching position at Newton when the job came open. She helped out with the Cardinal team last fall when former head coach Laura Sherratt went on maternity leave as the 2015 season began.

“I was the seventh-grade volleyball coach here last year until they asked me to fill in for Laura,” Carter said. “Helping with the team last year allowed me to sample the head coaching job before I was it. When Laura decided to step down, I knew I wanted it. It was fun, and I loved working these kids.”

Carter played as a back row specialist for Oskaloosa High School, but was sidelined with a hip injury as a senior. She played a season as a libero for William Penn University in Oskaloosa before a double hip replacement ended her playing days.

“It was sad for me when I couldn’t play any more. I love this sport. When I was in high school, I was the kid thinking about when practice would begin each day,” Carter said.

Following William Penn, Carter said she was in graduate school at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D., for awhile. She said she had plans to work in politics but decided it wasn’t for her. Carter said she returned to Iowa to finish her teaching degree and taught three years in the Prairie City-Monroe district before accepting the teaching position in Newton last year.

“I know these kids not just from volleyball but from the classroom also,” Carter said. “I see them each day throughout the school day, which is great.”

The Cardinals recently finished fourth in a 17-team competitive team camp at Simpson College in Indianola. They are headed to another competitive team camp at Central College in Pella this weekend.

“We played really good volleyball at the Simpson camp. These competitive team camps are set up like tournaments. The Central camp will have more and bigger teams than the Simpson camp,” Carter said. “I went to these camps when I was in high school and remember how beneficial it was to hear the same things my coaches were talking about from another coach.

“Plus, we are playing volleyball every day at the camp. We played 37 sets of volleyball during the Simpson Camp. We had a team meeting with the Simpson head coach who reinforced the concepts we as a coaching staff were telling our players.”

Carter said the Cardinals are building positive team climates and team cultures. She said they are a goal-oriented team.

“It’s about being ‘All In’ for us this season. You are always giving your best, always going after the ball and always trying to get better. We focused on this during our open gyms,” Carter said. “The way the kids played at Simpson showed how excited they are about the season.”

Newton finished 16-19 in 2015 and went 1-5 in Little Hawkeye Conference match play. The Cardinals open the 2016 season at home on Aug. 23 in the Newton Invitational.

“The ultimate goal as a team is to be in Cedar Rapids in November in the state volleyball tournament,” Carter said. “We’re instilling in our players to if they are on the team to be here and all in every day at practices and in matches.”

Carter and her husband Jason, who is a science and math teacher at Berg Middle School, have three children. Jason Carter is an assistant coach for the NHS boys’ basketball and golf teams.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com