By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Thompson High School head volleyball coach Judy Green still remembers the day she saw leadership emerge in volleyball players Kailyn Lillie and Germashia Moton.

While coaching a club volleyball team before she was hired as the THS head volleyball coach, Green had the two players on her squad.

Down 16-6 in a set in the semifinals of a tournament in Franklin, Tenn., Green knew she could count on Lillie and Moton.

“It was the semifinals of the tournament, and we just weren’t playing very well,” Green said. “We chatted a little about what we needed to do, and I looked at those two and I said ‘We are going to win this set.’

“If you could have seen how these two young people led our team back to win that set and the semifinal match and the finals that followed that, it was probably one of the most incredible experiences as a coach I have ever seen,” Green added.

After coming to THS, Green saw the two players continue to develop as students, athletes and citizens in their community.

On May 9, Lillie and Moton saw the fruits of their efforts, as they signed scholarships with Tennessee Wesleyan and Alabama A&M University, respectively, while surrounded by friends, family members and coaches in the THS library.

“It’s a dream come true for them. We are very proud of you both,” said THS Principal Dr. Wesley Hester. “We want to congratulate you and tell you how much we appreciate all that you’ve done for yourself, certainly, but also for Thompson High School and for our volleyball program and our school in general.”

Green said she will never forget the contributions the two players have made to the THS volleyball program.

“Of course we know that they are fine, talented volleyball players. They are exceptional students, and they are exceptional members of our community,” Green said. “They put a lot back into our community. You’ve been coachable, you’ve been assertive and you’ve been absolutely flat-out determined.”