By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
Sharon Peacock originally thought it would be a job she would hang on to for a year or two before she passed the torch on to somebody else.
Instead Peacock continued to build and guide the T.R. Miller Lady Tigers volleyball program for five seasons until she recently resigned in order to take a teaching job at Jefferson Davis Community College.
Peacock has been the only coach the Lady Tigers have ever had since the program's birth in 2002. While she leaves the program with a less-than spectacular 61-73 overall record, her mark of 38-25 over the last two seasons is a better indication of where T.R. Miller's program is headed.
Learning the game was not the only challenge Peacock faced that year. Two months after she accepted the position she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Lady Tigers dropped to 6-19 in 2003 and 8-17 in 2004. The turning point for the program came in 2005 when T.R. Miller went 21-12 and won its first Area Tournament championship.
Last year with just one returning starter, Shandreka Foster, T.R. Miller posted a 17-13 record and advanced to within one round of the state tournament. That record included a school-record 11-game winning streak.
Daughter Terri-Lynne Peacock played for Peacock the first four years she coached the team. The elder Peacock is thankful for having the opportunity to coach her daughter.
Peacock said it was important for T.R. Miller to add volleyball to its sports curriculum.
While Peacock watched the caliber of play within her own program evolve, she has watched volleyball evolve throughout Escambia County.
Peacock said there are different reasons why her program has gotten better.
Peacock said now is a good time for her to walk away from the sport.