Athens volleyball never has to worry about two things: energy and leadership.

Lone Golden Eagles senior, Chloe Jackson, brings plenty of both.

On Senior Night for AHS Monday, October 10, Jackson said something as simple as “pick up the energy” during pregame for their matchup with West Limestone.

Immediately, the team responded, a clear sign of the respect she receives from her peers, along with the expectations she and coach Whitley Berryhill have for the team.

During the ceremony of Senior Night before the game took place, it also became clear the positive impact Jackson has had on Athens volleyball, with teammates who have become her family.

Jackson was emotional when her speech was read over the PA system during the pregame ceremony, taking in the family, friends, coaches and teammates who have helped her reach the point of being the unquestioned leader of the team.

“It was very emotional, to say the least,” she said. “I was tearing up a little bit with the coaches and the family, but when the teammate part of my speech came up, I got really teared up, because we went through so much in the past few months. Looking up and seeing them with red faces and wiping their eyes … I just hope that, as a senior, I was everything that they needed.”

While she has the full respect of her teammates, that does not mean being the only senior on the team is without its challenges.

Being co-captain alongside Savannah Eastep, it forced Jackson to hold herself to a certain standard of character.

“At first, it was a lot of pressure that they were going to look up to me. It took a lot of self-reflecting. I just try to be their calm in the chaos. I just know it helped me grow a lot knowing I had people looking up to me, that I had to keep myself in check first,” Jackson said. “It was a great thing we are so young, because it pushed others to step up in that same (leadership) spot. Savannah … I feel like she played the senior role, too.”

She and “Coach B,” as Jackson calls her, have developed a relationship of respect so much so that the talented senior has become an extra coach on the floor.

Berryhill, according to Jackson, likes coaching with initiative and passion, so Jackson tries to mirror that in her game.

“She coaches a lot of energy, momentum and confidence. I feel like a lot of that has rubbed off on me and my play,” Jackson said.

“It has helped me become more confident in my skills and abilities. And, when I got offered at Wallace State, she put it in my head that I had earned it and deserved it.”

The night Jackson announced her full scholarship to Wallace State in Hanceville was the realization of a goal to get to the next level of play while pursuing her career paths.

This goal is something that was established at a young age, developing a love of volleyball as young as 5-years old, according to Jackson.

While she may have taken a break from volleyball for competitive cheer, she ended back on the sport that first won her attention, and is now a sport yielding a college opportunity.

“I said ‘I really do miss volleyball.’ So, freshman year, I decided to try out for the team, and I made it,” she said.

Once getting back into volleyball, Jackson would meet Berryhill at a club volleyball competition.

That is where Jackson and Berryhill would have a memorable first encounter they both now look back at fondly.

“Coach B had seen some of my films, but thought that I looked a lot taller on my film than I did in person,” Jackson said. “I walked up to her in the hotel, never met her, never talked to her other than text, and introduced myself. She just kind of looked at me. The next day, first game in warmups, she pulled me over and said ‘I’m not going to lie to you, when I met you last night, I was thinking ‘how in the world is this girl a middle?’ But then she goes, ‘you proved me wrong.’”

Jackson has never let the perception of her size and playing the middle get to her, but rather uses it as motivation.

That is where much of the energy comes from.

She is out to break the stereotype of having to be big to play middle. It is not about how tall someone is, but how hard they compete and prepare.

“It is really rare that you have middles play defense and all the way around. I feel like the energy I bring makes up for a little bit of the height,” she said. “I know that I am smaller than most middles and that I have to work harder than them. The past couple off-seasons I have been doing heavy training with weights and jump training. So, I feel what I lack in height I make up for in jumping.”

This athleticism will come in handy at Wallace State, the place she decided to call her next home and next step in her journey.

“The atmosphere (at Wallace) was just something that I loved. It was competitive, it was well structured. They hold their athletes to a high standard, and that is something I know I thrive in for the future.”

She is currently deciding between two different career paths: a labor & delivery nurse or a physical therapy assistant.

However, before she takes the next step in her journey, she has unfinished business at Athens. The Golden Eagles are hosting their area’s tournament on Thursday, Oct. 13, in what Jackson hopes is the beginning of a run to regional competition and ultimately the state title competition.

Furthermore, don’t expect to see the last of Jackson with Athens Volleyball following her graduation, as she will go from leader to biggest supporter.

“I don’t care if they like it or not, I am going to be cheering them on,” Jackson said. “My teammates are absolutely awesome. They have been with me every step of the way. Without how much they have pushed me in practice, I would not be able to make the game-time decisions that I do. They’re my biggest cheerleaders.”