Father Ryan volleyball coach Jinx Cockerham is in her 46th year with the school.

Brentwood head coach Barbara Campbell captured her 10th state title with the Bruins last season

After 46 years as a teacher and coach at Father Ryan, volleyball coach Jinx Cockerham still gets excited about the little things.

“I think the game is so exciting,” Cockerham said. “I’m old-school, I love hearing a shoe squeak on the floor. I love hearing the palm of your hand contact the volleyball.”

Cockerham and Brentwood’s Barbara Campbell are volleyball legends in the Midstate. Campbell is entering her 28th year with the Bruins. Cockerham started at Father Ryan as a basketball coach, before volleyball came to Middle Tennessee.

It’s that love for the game and a commitment to their players and schools that keep the two coaches hungry for more.

“I think it’s the love of our schools,” Campbell said. “When you see a player with potential and you’re able to help them be successful and you see the potential for a team to be successful. That’s what drives you.”

A mutual respect

The two coaches were once heated rivals when Brentwood and Father Ryan shared a division, playing each other more times than they can count.

“I couldn’t even guess how many times we’ve played each other,” Campbell said.

Despite the rivalry, the two are friends who share a great admiration for one another.

“Jinx is Father Ryan to me,” Campbell said. “I think it’s just a mutual respect because we’ve both been there and although we haven’t shared it specifically together, we’ve shared it. We’ve both been there and been through it and seen it grow.”

“She’s definitely a friend and I know that a lot of volleyball is where it is because of her contributions,” Cockerham said of Campbell.

Father Ryan volleyball coach Jinx Cockerham has led the Lady Irish to four state championships.

Campbell picked up her 1,500th career win on Aug. 29; Cockerham thinks it’s a record no other coach will be able to break.

“It’ll never happen,” she said. “Brentwood is so strong, it’s like every year is a reload process. They’re incredible, and it has to start from the top. A down year for her is runner-up.”

Second-generation coaching

With Campbell picking up her 10th state title last season, the two coaches now have a combined 14 state championships between them and 74 years of combined experience at their respective schools.

One reason for both coaches sticking with their schools for so long is the opportunity to coach family members of former players.

“There are girls at our high school that are daughters of former players and that just blows me away,” Campbell said. “In some families there have been three sisters who have played for me.”

In some cases for Cockerham, she has coached entire families.

“The greatest of all of those might be the Mullins family,” Cockerham said. “I coached all five girls, I coached the mother and their father went to Father Ryan. They’re like my extended family in volleyball.”

And such families hold her in very high regard.

“She’s just kind of a legend to us,”  said Sarah Mullins, mother of the five daughters. “She has a dedication not only to athletics but to young women.”

That dedication helps Cockerham have a lasting impact with her players.

“I couldn’t have picked a better person, or a better role model to have been there for them,” Mulllins said. “Four of my five girls went on to play college athletics and to see how much she benefited them and helped them through some difficult times is kind of just mind-blowing.”

Family backbone

One thing that helps both coaches come back year after year is the support they get off the court.

“My family is very supportive,” Campbell said. “My girls love to come back to the big games, especially the state tournament and see how it’s grown since they played.”

“Every weekend was a family affair,” Cockerham said.

Leading the charge for each support system are the coaches’ biggest fans: their husbands.

“I can’t even name how few events he has ever missed,” Cockerham said of Jim, her husband of 45 years.

And they tend to not watch quietly.

“He’s the one who is cheering the loudest,” Campbell said of husband Mike. “He is very supportive.”

With Campbell picking up her 10th state title last season and Cockerham taking the Irish to a second-place finish in the state final, neither coach is showing signs of stopping anytime soon.

When they do finally decide to hang up the whistle, it is likely that their family will be a large factor.

“Over the years I’ve missed family weddings, I’ve missed family reunions and I really missed a lot,” Campbell said. “There will be come that time where I just don’t want to miss anymore.”

Reach Sam Brown at 615-259-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.

Barbara Campbell 

• Years at Brentwood: 28
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  State titles: 10
  
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  State runners-up: 7
  
  
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  Favorite class to teach: Wellness
  
  
  

Jinx Cockerham

• Years at Father Ryan: 46
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  State titles: 4
  
• 
  
  State runners-up: 10
  
  
• 
  
  
  Favorite class to teach: Digital literacy