After more than a decade as head coach of the RCMHS Lady Eagles volleyball team, Coach Keith Tucker has resigned. Coach Tucker announced his resignation shortly after the 2023 season.
RCMHS Principal Kristal Sisson stated, “Coach Tucker has established a culture of excellence in Lady Eagle volleyball. He set the bar high for his players, and they worked very hard to make him proud. The Lady Eagle volleyball team regularly took on 4A, 5A, and 6A opponents each season and, more than not, walked away with the victory! Coach Tucker and his teams have played for the state championship several times and won the state championship in 2020. Coach Tucker was selected as Mississippi Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2021. While we will miss Coach Tucker on the volleyball court, we are thrilled that he will continue teaching math on the RCMHS campus. Coach Tucker’s work ethic on the court is equal to his efforts in teaching, and we appreciate him.”
Coach Tucker stated the following: “I will miss being a part of the program daily, but I plan to help in any way that I can. I want to make the transition for the new coach very smooth, and I would still like to be involved in some capacity. I love the sport and enjoy working with the team.” When asked about his favorite memories from the past decade, Coach Tucker said that, of course, winning the state championship in 2020 was one of his favorites, but he also was proud to beat Vancleave since they were his rival when coaching at East Central prior to coming to RCMHS. Coach Tucker remembers one game in particular. “In one match, Maddy Frazier spiked a ball very hard, and it ricocheted off the opponent’s hands and went in to the bleachers and hit the iPad my wife Kristy was using to film the game!” Some of his other favorite memories are a little surprising. “One of the times that I have been most proud of a team was against OLA. This particular OLA team was phenomenal! Even though we lost, it was a close loss! I have never been more proud of a team’s tenacity than I was during that game! The scoreboard didn’t matter. The girls showed incredible perseverance and determination. I was so proud of them!”
Now that Coach Tucker will not have volleyball training in the summers, he plans to ride his horses more, travel, and spend time at his family farm in McComb. Principal Sisson stated, “We appreciate Coach Tucker not only for his years of dedication to Lady Eagle volleyball, but also for the example he sets for our students daily. He is a very spiritual man, and he is always willing to share God’s love. We are blessed to have Coach Tucker in our Eagle family.”
