By Ty Bartell

AUSTINTOWN OH-  Entering her third season at the helm of Austintown-Fitch volleyball, head coach Kylee Herberger has built a program that’s as close-knit as it is competitive. With six seniors and a core group that has been with her since she took over, the Falcons return a roster rich in varsity experience, trust and familiarity.

Herberger’s tenure has already produced a 38-12 record and back-to-back All-American Conference championships. This fall, she believes that bond between coach and players will help the Falcons push their game to newer heights.

Leading the way is senior setter Rylie Simons, the program’s steady cornerstone who enters the season with 2,590 career assists. Her high volleyball IQ, smooth hands and decision-making give Fitch stability and poise, even in chaotic moments. Around her, a wealth of offensive firepower returns, including outside hitter Kylie Folkwine, opposite hitter Morgan Roby and the athletic Kaliana Ray!

Herberger is balancing refinement of proven systems with expansion into more complex offensive sets. The Falcons’ schedule is designed to challenge them early, with non-conference matchups against perennial powers such as Archbishop Hoban, Masillon Jackson and top-tier competition at the two-day Avon Lake tournament.

The AAC race, however, will be as challenging as ever. Herberger points to Canfield’s young but battle-tested hitters and a dangerous Boardman squad as the toughest conference threats. Fitch will aim not just to defend its crown, but to improve in key areas such as consistency and pace of play, lessons learned from fast-tempo opponents last season.The Falcons’ identity this year centers on their competitiveness. Even with many multi-sport athletes who may not pursue volleyball at the next level, Herberger says this group knows when to rise to the moment.

For Herberger, volleyball has been a lifelong passion, nurtured from childhood by her mother’s own coaching career. After playing in college and stepping away to start a family, she returned to the sideline and found herself right back where she belongs, building a culture of hard work, positivity and pride in the Falcons’ tradition. Fitch opens the 2025 season at home on Aug. 15, looking to protect its AAC title and extend the winning standard that has become a hallmark of the program.

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“We all knew that when we found out, and it’s why we ended up, you know, certainly I can speak for myself why it’s like, okay, for a week I’m not sleeping because I know that we’ve got to get this right. I know we have to turn this around. I know we’ve got a hard road ahead now,” said Michael Johnson in one episode of Ready Set Go, while informing viewers of how their $30 million dreams were crushed. What went down?

Grand Slam Track launched with $30 million in investor commitments, faced a severe financial crisis when a major investor withdrew their promised funds after the inaugural meet in Kingston, Jamaica. This led to a $13 million debt, with athletes owed approximately $3 million in prize money from the Kingston event alone. The investor attended GST’s debut in Kingston and then reversed course, citing economic instability following a surprise tariff announcement by President Trump, diverting their funds elsewhere.

But what if Johnson had that $30 million? What if the LA Slam had never been cancelled? What if the athletes were paid on time? Would that have saved track and field? Well, this track and field coach disagrees.

Addressing the hate towards Grand Slam Track, track and field pundit, Coach Rob shared in his YouTube video that he was there to talk about how GST is no longer just an idea but a reality, and whether it will happen again. He pointed out, “Because track and field, and he (Michael Johnson) addressed this on the show, the sport itself has been in some form of crisis. Like I think it was Justin Gatlin who said it himself, that we all know that track and field as a sport needs a facelift. Noah Lyles said the sport doesn’t need to be saved, but we do need help.”

Gatlin has been vocal about track and field again and again over the years.

“We have a lot of people who believe that the sport needs saving, and it doesn’t so much need saving as much as it needs help,” Noah Lyles had said in an interview. Rob then went ahead to defend Johnson. “Michael Johnson dared to change the narrative. He invested real money, his own money, because people who call what his league has become ‘grand scam track.’ Like, it might sound cute and it might even make for a good thumbnail, but it’s just not accurate.”

Addressing the scam allegation, Johnson had said he was an investor in GST, putting in his own money, joking that this made him “the worst scammer ever.”

Even the track and field pundit said, “If he was a scam artist, scam artists do not set themselves up for failure.” He then stressed the two track and field legends’ conversation about how much money it takes to put on these events.

Rob talked about the prize money GST was offering, an amount that had never been offered in track and field ever. He added venue and broadcast costs to it and declared, “When you add up all the money, you do realize that $30 million does sound about right for what it was going to take to get them through a year. And $30 million does sound like $30 million.” And then he got to the part where he said that the $30 million might have also made no difference.

“But at the end of the day, Grand Slam Track is actually not in the track and field business. They are in the entertainment business. And that’s where track and field has struggled because nothing that we actually do in the sport functions as viable entertainment. Not only did it not function that way, it was never set up to be that.”

Johnson had mentioned in the past that the goal of the GST was to build a truly professional, commercially viable league for fans and top athletes, treating athletes as the product but packaging them in a way that entertains fans, just like every other professional sport, unlike track and field in its current form.

But why wouldn’t it work as entertainment?  Because, like he said in his video, “races really don’t have much consequence. I mean, yes, there will be winners and losers, but who cares? Because it’s all about championships anyway.”

In high school and college, the focus is on major championships, while other races are seen as practice. At the pro level, only the World Championships and Olympics matter, with Americans reaching them solely through national trials.

Michael Johnson recalls his track savior remark

The American track and field legend walked straight into fire when he said, “I think I can save track, I don’t think I can save track and field.” Olympic Champion Tara Davis-Woodhall simply put it out that the Field “does not need saving at all.”  Months have passed ever since, but has Johnson’s stance changed? No.

In the July 31 episode of Justin Gatlin’s Ready Set Go podcast, Michael Johnson addressed the controversy surrounding his statement. Gatlin posed a direct question about Johnson’s bold claim, and Johnson responded candidly. “People ask questions, and they don’t know the question that was asked to you. They understand your answer only.” He clarified that the original question was focused on whether he could save the entire sport. His answer? Honest and precise: Track, not track and field.

In the conversation with Justin Gatlin, he repeated the statement and said, “Look, I’m in the public eye. I have been for a very long time. If people want to say that I said I feel like I can be the savior, I mean, okay. I put myself out there. I have to take it, and I’ll take it.” 

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada – University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball players Kainoa Wade and Trevell Jordan helped the United States capture the gold medal at the 2025 NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup at the 7 Chiefs Sportsplex & Chief Jim Starlight Centre.
 
In the title match, Wade tallied 10 points, all on kills, while Jordan added nine points (7 kills, 2 blocks) in leading Team USA to a 26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18 victory over host Canada. Incoming libero Quintin Greenidge had seven digs for Team Canada and was named the tournament’s Best Libero and Best Receiver.
 
Wade and Jordan led the U.S. to a perfect 5-0 mark in robin play. Canada went 4-1 in round robin play with its only loss to Team USA. Greenidge finished the tournament with 65 excellent receptions, tops among all players, and 44 digs, which was second-most.
 
The U.S. and Canada met earlier in the tournament with Wade tallying 13 kills and two blocks in the match. Both Wade and Jordan started four of the six matches for the Americans. Wade reached double-figures in kills three times with 37 total kills while Jordan totaled 28 kills and nine blocks, the latter of which was second-most on the team.
 
Both the U.S. and Canada already qualified for the U21 World Championship in China later this month. The 12-member U.S. roster has not been set. Looking to make the team are Wade, Jordan, Tread Rosenthal, Finn Kearney, and Justin Todd.
 
 

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