Photo courtesy of Amanda Wood
Amanda Wood was approved Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, as the new head volleyball coach at Hoover High School.
HOOVER -- Hoover High School has named its next head volleyball coach.
Amanda Wood was approved by the Hoover Board of Education on Tuesday evening as the new leader of the Hoover volleyball program. She takes over following the retirement of Chris Camper and comes to Hoover after spending the last 10 years at James Clemens.
“A job like Hoover doesn’t come open very often, and the fact that they were interested in me, much less offering me the job, was flattering and a huge honor,” Wood said.
Wood has been at James Clemens since the school was formed. She met with the James Clemens players earlier Tuesday, admitting it wasn’t easy but that it was important to deliver the news to them personally.
“It was very difficult to leave, having been there since it opened,” she said. “There has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears poured into that program.”
While at James Clemens, Wood led the Jets to 253 wins, five regional tournament appearances and three area championships (2012, 2013 and 2021).
Wood hails from Muscle Shoals and, from there, went on to play collegiately at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Camper hands over the keys to a program in tremendous shape. Hoover has won over 300 matches over the last decade with Camper in charge, including the 2020 Class 7A state championship.
Hoover’s 2020 team was one for the ages. The Bucs posted a 50-1 record and won the only state title in the program’s history. After dropping their first match of the season, they reeled off 50 wins in a row, hardly losing a set along the way.
Wood called what Camper created at Hoover a “powerhouse program.” She has known Camper and Hoover athletic director Andy Urban for several years and expressed gratitude to them both.
Now, she’s ready to get started.
“I came to work,” she said. “I don’t take anything in my program lightly, from academics to conditioning. I intend on helping Hoover continue its winning history and I’m excited to be a part of that.
