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Holly Drinnon has put her heart and soul into the Morristown East volleyball program for the past 12 years.

On Tuesday morning, she decided to hang up the whistle and put down the clipboard.

Drinnon met with her team and announced that she was resigning as East’s head volleyball coach. She will remain as a teacher at the school.

While the decision was obviously a tough one for Drinnon, it came down to family. Drinnon’s youngest daughter, Jaci, transferred to Walters State a few months ago to play volleyball for the Lady Senators. With Walters State and Morristown East playing on the same days of the week, the decision to watch her daughter was one she needed to make.

“I just don’t want to miss that time,” Drinnon said. “You can’t get it back, and it’s just really important for me to be there. It’s just a family decision. I have very much enjoyed my time at East. We have such a good group of girls. Our administration has been so helpful. It’s been such a joy to coach. I have really enjoyed it. It’s a very tough decision.”

Drinnon ends her time at East as the winningest coach in school history. Drinnon earned that honor this past season in a road district match against Sevier County. Drinnon finished with 257 wins at East, four district tournament titles and a Region final appearance, as well as a State Sectional appearance, in 2018.

2018 was the program’s most successful season under Drinnon. The Lady ‘Canes went 25-10, defeated Morristown West in the District Championship before taking down Daniel Boone in the Region Semifinals. The Lady ‘Canes would fall to D-B in the Region Finals and Heritage in the State Sectional match.

This past season, the Lady ‘Canes went 16-4. They went undefeated in district play and won the district tournament title. It was their third straight district tournament title.

“These girls all get along, and they’re very talented,” Drinnon said about this year’s team. “They play a lot of volleyball. They just have a great chemistry. They’re great teammates. That helps them so much with this sport. It’s just a great group. They’re going to be pretty successful. I told them I’ll still be here to cheer them on and help anyway I can.”

East will immediately begin a search for Drinnon’s replacement.

“We are sad to see Holly decide to step down but are incredibly thankful for all she has done for our volleyball program,” Morristown East Athletic Director Brad Hall said. “She is the winningest coach in school history and has built this program up. We are very grateful for everything that she has done and hope she enjoys this time with her family.”