Emily Jackson has been hired as the new head volleyball coach at Westfield High School.
Emily grew up in Seymour. She played her high school volleyball there and at the Circle City Volleyball Club. Her Sophomore year she was selected as a “Fab 50”, one of 50 best high school volleyball players in the country. While there, she had the opportunity to train at the Olympic Training Center and play overseas.
Emily earned a full ride scholarship and played collegiately for Penn State University under the winningest coach of all time, Russ Rose. While playing at Penn State, Emily’s team won the Big Ten four years in a row, made a final four appearance her sophomore year and were NCAA Championship Runners’ up in both her junior and senior years. After college, she briefly played professional volleyball in France.
Emily began her coaching career leading a team for the Indy Juniors Volleyball Club and was the Assistant Varsity Coach at Heritage Christian under Michelle York. After having kids, Emily took time away from coaching to be at home. She returned to coaching in 2012 as the Westfield Junior Varsity head coach. In 2015 she began her role as the Varsity Assistant as well as a three-year run as the Director of the Westfield Feeder Club. As Director, Emily also coached a team within the program each year she ran it. Emily has additionally coached the 13-1s, 14-1s, and now coaches the 11-1s Elite teams for The Academy at Grand Park.
Coach Jackson hopes to develop a Championship program where her players all share a passion for greatness and are pursuing excellence in everything they do. She desires that her players experience being part of something much greater than themselves. She believes that pushing athletes to reach their God-given potential is something she is meant to do. She views volleyball as a tool to develop championship character within each student-athlete.
“Emily has been a valued member of our coaching staff for 9 years. Her background as a player and a coach makes for a great combination to lead our volleyball program. As an assistant at Westfield, she has played a huge part with player development and mentoring athletes. She understands the value of education based athletics and the balance of time demands teenage athletes face. We are excited for the future of Westfield Volleyball., ” said Andy Tebbe, WHS Athletic Director.
Emily is married to Michael Jackson, and they have three children. Cooper is 16, a sophomore at Westfield High School, Isabelle is 14, and a freshman at WHS, and Esther is 10 and in the 4th grade. Emily holds a BS in Kinesiology and a minor in Nutrition from Penn State University, as well as her BA in Elementary Education from Butler University.