MADISON- Megan Aldridge is a self-proclaimed collaborative coach. “I get information from others and then come up with the best product for the team,” she said.

The 35-year old Aldridge is the new head coach of the James Clemens volleyball program arriving at her destination from Danville High where she coached the Lady Hawks from 2020-2022 winning three consecutive Area Championships, twice making it to the Sweet Sixteen of the State Playoffs and one Elite Eight appearance in the Class 4A classification. Her overall record was 134-62 within that time frame. She chose to sit out of coaching during the 2023 season for the Hawks, but is fully prepared to take her spot with the James Clemens athletic program.

“I want our team to feel like a team again as we have lost a lot of players from last season’s squad,” said Aldridge. “When I met with the girls I told them I want to be here a long time as I found out the girls love their school and volleyball and they want to be successful.”

A 2007 graduate from Brewer High of the town of Somerville where she played volleyball and softball, Aldridge earned her degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2011 from the University of Montevallo, a master’s degree in the same area from Alabama A&M in 2014 and a master’s in Education from the University of West Alabama in 2022. From 2012-2018 she was a Speech Language Pathologist for Morgan County Schools and an English teacher at Danville High from 2018-2024. While an eighth grade volleyball coach she was asked to assist the head coach of volleyball at Danville, which she gladly agreed to, not knowing she would soon be elevated to the head coach position due to fate.

“In the 2019 season as an assistant coach, the head coach had to take a leave of absence due to maternity leave so I filled her spot during the Area Tournament,” said Aldridge. “We unexpectedly lost in the second round of the Regional Tournament. After losing, I knew I would never let that happen again. That experience made me better. It was a turning point in my life.”

Once taking over the reins as head coach, Aldridge pressed ahead with her style of coaching, which she calls disciplined important, but not a dictator, and led her teams to the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen of the state playoffs. “I feel I run everything within the team and people like that as there are no questions on where I stand,” said Aldridge. “I live by example.”

Married to her husband, Jon, for 10 years, they have a nine-year old son named Brook. They make their home in Hartselle, which is a 30-minute drive to Madison, but are not against the idea of moving to Madison as Jon is a quality engineer for United Launch Alliance.

Aldridge was originally contacted by James Clemens last summer about the volleyball coach opening, but her son was involved with travel baseball so she opted to pass up the opportunity. Several months passed and again the James Clemens administration reached out to the Danville coach. This time, she was able to entertain the position at one of the largest schools in Alabama.

“When I met with school officials I said I want to coach here,” added Aldridge.

On the court, Aldridge said of her coaching style, “I treat my players as adults. I want them to feel supportive as they want stability within the program having Coach Genesis Taylor for just one season in 2023. I told these girls I want to be here.”