Any volleyball team trying to be successful needs a girl to create energy among the team, and Edgewood Academy has the perfect example in junior Lindsey Brown.
Brown, one of the top volleyball players across the state, is referred to as Edgewood Academy’s ‘Energizer Bunny’ by head coach David DeLozier.
She’s a three-time volleyball state champion, and she’s a Division I prospect entering her junior year. And while she has all the physical talent in the world to lead her team, one of the biggest assets she brings to the Wildcats is the tenacity she brings to the court.
“It’s really hard to depend on a coach or someone outside the team to generate energy or your team,” DeLozier said. “When a team can generate that themselves, it’s really crucial to their success. Lindsey is that piece for us and we are trying to encourage others to partake and really go along with that. That energy is big part of our team.” Anyone who has seen Edgewood Academy play has seen the sparkplug that is Brown. While she usually dominates all over the court, she is always the first person to celebrate or pick up her opponents.
When a point is scored or good play is made, she yells the loudest and jumps the highest. When a point is scored on the Wildcats or a teammate makes a mistake, she’s the first to talk with them and console them.
And when the the team wins the state championship, she’s the first person to the trophy and the one taking charge with celebratory selfies.
For some, it may get exhausting being the energizer. But for Brown, she’s grown up with that personality and will continue to play in that role.
“I’ve kind of grown up being this crazy, energetic person and I’ve grown into this role of just helping others and lead by example,” Brown said. “I always have energy and when someone is upset, I look to help them first. I feel like that’s been my role my whole life.”
She will continue that role this season with the Wildcats, while she also takes on a more dominating role. Brown had a stellar sophomore season last year for Edgewood as she racked up 267 kills, 302 digs, and 62 service aces en route to a championship and All-County honors. She’s gotten even better this summer as she’s traveled across the entire southeast to visit various camps from colleges. In the process, she’s picked up numerous Division I offers and put herself on the map for future offers from premier programs.
She’s camped at Florida, Auburn, Alabama and others.
Edgewood has also hosted a team camp this summer where they invited Ruth Nelson, a former volleyball coach who coached at George Williams College, Houston, LSU and Iowa. She has over 500 college wins in her career.
While she gets older, stronger, and faster entering her junior year, she’s taken the time to learn the game more, and she believes that will pay off this season.
“This summer was really a progressive summer for me,” Brown said. “I came out of last school season already knowing that I wanted to play in college so I wanted to push my mental aspect of my game and get my IQ higher this year. I feel like I got a lot of out of going to all of these college camps and I think coming out of the summer, I am 10x more prepared than I was entering the summer.”
