Aspen Coggins does it all at Veterans High School from Day 1 of the school year. She had to make a choice though, when it came to becoming a college student-athlete, and the winner is the volleyball program at LaGrange College.
On Thursday, Coggins signed her letter of intent to play at the NCAA Division III school with former Warhawk teammate Hayley Ritchie. When it comes to volleyball, Coggins also did it all for head coach Nicole Miranda, and her multiple contributions keyed last fall’s area championship run not to mention three straight trips to the GHSA state tournament with wins in each season.
“I have the most confidence in volleyball,” said Coggins, who would go from one court to another – the basketball court – and then go outside in the spring for Veterans soccer. “I love soccer and basketball. It was a really hard choice. I just felt I would get more playing time and I would be able to help out this team more.”
Out of the three sports, volleyball is also the one Coggins has the least amount of relative experience because, in her younger days, there were not the opportunities for youth volleyball that exist today outside of the school system. She first played soccer when her father, Barry Coggins, put her out there really young. Basketball followed. Aspen saw no reason to drop anything from her schedule, especially when she was introduced to volleyball in high school.
“I fell in love with all of them,” she said. “I didn’t want to quit any of them. It’s going to be hard not playing soccer and basketball. There’s always intramurals.
“The summer before my freshman year (at Houston County High) my dad signed me up for a UGA camp. I thought it was soccer or basketball. He said, ‘No, it’s volleyball.’ I got thrown into it. I was so nervous. I had to learn so much, and it was just different.
“I think that’s why I started loving it. I love having a challenge.”
Setter would be Coggins’ labeled position on the Veterans team, and as a senior she had 281 assists. From the backcourt she had 98 digs, and up front she scored 82 kills. In the service game, Coggins recorded 49 aces.
That’s fairly consistent with her junior year when she had 260 aces, 108 digs, 73 kills and 75 aces.
At LaGrange, Coggins will do whatever is needed to get on the court and help the team win.
“I’m very competitive,” she said. “I just want to win and make a difference.”
Coggins is also a part of back-to-back region soccer champions at Veterans, and in basketball the Lady Warhawks made state for the first time ever back in February.
“I just feel like everything’s going up and up,” she said. “It’s a team effort. There’s no way we could have gone far without our coaches and being how we are. My (teams) I love like a family during that season and even after.”
At LaGrange, Coggins plans to major in exercise science with the goal of becoming a physical therapist.
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