Montgomery Academy Volleyball Coach announced retirement
Coach Julie Gordon has announced her retirement after a storied forty-six years as varsity volleyball coach at The Montgomery Academy (MA). Over the last four decades, Coach Gordon has led the Eagles to eight state championships and holds an overall record of 1,645 wins and 438 losses. Coach Gordon eclipsed the 1,600-win mark earlier this season, becoming one of only two coaches in state history to reach that milestone.
She ranks 6th in the nation in most career wins by a high school coach. Coach Gordon was inducted into the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Hall of Fame in 2013 and is a past recipient of the Montgomery Coach of the Year Award. In addition to her legendary career and remarkable accolades, Coach Gordon has served as a mentor and friend to many student athletes and coaches both at MA and around the state.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to work for The Montgomery Academy for the last 46 years,” said Coach Gordon. “The mentors I have worked with have molded me into the person I am today. Men like Joe Mooty, John Tatum, Spence McCracken, Anthony McCall, David and Tim Bethea, to name a few, have been wonderful role models. We have had some great student-athletes come through MA. I am proud of the program we have built and pleased to leave it in the capable hands of our current athletic administration. Most meaningful to me are the relationships I’ve formed over the years. I love my girls and would do anything for them. I will miss being a part of their lives, but it is time for me to begin a new chapter where I can enjoy my many hobbies like hiking the Appalachian Trail, biking, and spending time with my family.”
“Coach Gordon is everything an Athletic Director could want in a coach,” said MA Athletic Director Wright Ward. “She’s caring, loyal, and dedicated, not just to the sport, but to the athletes and community. She has a passion and love for education-based athletics that cannot be matched. Coach Gordon has woken up every day for the last 46 years and made the choice to be an Eagle. She could have gone to any number of places over the last several years, yet she has chosen to remain here, with us, at home. During her tenure she has raised the standard, and expectation not just for
Montgomery Academy Volleyball, but all of MA Athletics. We will be forever grateful for the impact she has had on the entire MA community, and we look forward to where this next chapter in her life will take her…as long as it continues to have some regular pit stops right here at Vaughn Road. Where you will ALWAYS be welcome, Coach!”
“I’m deeply thankful to Julie Gordon for her long-term commitment to the pursuit of excellence at The Montgomery Academy,” said MA Head of School John McWilliams. “She has positively impacted the lives of generations of young people at MA through nearly five decades of service. She has always sought to live out the mission of the school by developing leaders who not only have been successful on the court, but have also been committed, as our mission states, ‘to honor, scholarship, service and the pursuit of excellence.’ We will miss her when she leaves at the end of the school year, but we know that she will leave a legacy of excellence that we will seek to continue in the years to come. Congratulations, Coach Gordon, on an outstanding career!”
Coach Gordon will retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year. MA will begin the search for its next Head Volleyball Coach in the coming days.
(Information from the Montgomery Academy)
