HOLTON – The Holton volleyball program needed a new coach heading into the 2021 season, and the Red Devils found a good one, even though it meant splitting up a successful father-son coaching combination at Montague.
Austin Bectel, 22, is the son of Montague volleyball head coach Shawn Bectel, and helped lead the Wildcats to a lot of victories alongside his dad for the past six years.
At first Austin was just sort of tagging along at Montague, according to his father, but then started developing a strong understanding of volleyball and how to work with players, so he was put on the payroll as an assistant coach.
When the Holton offer came, both Austin and his dad figured he was ready to break out and lead a varsity team on his own.
“I loved doing sports with my dad,” Austin said. “Volleyball was one of the sports I could never play, and so my role was to coach, and the fact that he gave me that opportunity was awesome.”
So far Austin is doing what many first-year coaches do – finding his way through a rebuilding season. The Red Devils were 5-10 overall as of this writing, and 2-4 in CSAA Silver Division play.
[1]“I came in expecting to rebuild,” he said. “They had a bit of a rough season last year, and I want to help change the program to my expectations and vision. So far the kids are really getting on board with me and moving in the right direction.”
That was noticed by Shawn Bectel when his Wildcats played Holton in a quad match at Montague High School last Saturday.
“I’m proud to see what he’s doing,” Shawn said. “I asked him if I could talk to his kids for a minute after the match, and I kind of reassured them. I told them that they looked good and are on the right path. I think hearing that from someone else kind of helps, and it was exciting to see them be on that path.”
Austin said it was fun facing his father’s team, even though Holton lost the match 2-1.
“It was exciting,” he said. “To just be able to coach against him and show how far my kids have come this season was exciting. It was also exciting to see the girls from Montague that I have helped train do so well.”
The Bectels both have very competitive personalities and always want to win, but they say that will never come between their incredibly strong personal bond. Father and son are there for each other in all circumstances.
One example came last Thursday, when the Montague squad hit the road on a practice day to go to Holton and scrimmage the Red Devils.
[2]“We talk every day,” Austin said about him and his dad. “I always have phone calls with him, and we talk volleyball, strategy, and it truly is an everyday phone call.”
Shawn says he sometimes has to remind himself that he’s the father, not a best buddy
“It’s one of those things where he’s not only my son, but my best friend,” Shawn said. “But he’s a great kid, and to see him following in my footsteps is exciting. It’s a bond we’ll always have and I’m so excited about it.”
Austin is also hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps of success. The Montague program has been a West Michigan Conference powerhouse for years, and the seeds for that kind of success at Holton were planted when the Red Devils won a state championship in 1994 under Coach Ed Bailey.
The current Red Devils have some players who are performing well, and others who have been showing real potential. Senior Layna Cartwright leads the team with 101 kills and 39 blocks so far this season. Sophomore Abbie Fowler leads in assists with 199, senior Gianna Reed leads in aces with 13, and junior Katie Petersen leads in digs with 61.
“I’d say the biggest thing right now is getting players bought in,” Austin said. “That takes time and winning. It takes dedication from everyone as a whole. I’d love to get to the point where we bring volleyball back here like it was under Ed Bailey.
“I’ll look at player growth and record (after the season). I want to see who we’ve played tough and who we’ve beaten. Records aren’t everything, but I’ll look back and reflect on everything we did. We’ve already had a lot of kids step into places of need, and I’m excited to look back and see the improvement they’ve made as a whole team.”