Haleigh Burns is building her own winning legacy at Randall

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - When Haleigh Burns was brought on as the Randall Raiders’ Head Volleyball Coach, she knew she was inheriting a legacy of winning.

Randall bid adieu to former coach Jason Culpepper, who established the program as a fortress of volleyball in the Panhandle, winning the school’s first state championship in 2009.

At the time, Coach Burns didn’t know quite what she was capable of.

“I didn’t even know if I wanted to apply for it, because I was like, ‘Can I even do that?’” Burns said. “They had just went to state, and here I was, barely making it in the district I was in. I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t even tell my parents that I was applying for it.”

Her parents and the rest of the state would soon find out, as she led the Lady Raiders to the state tournament in her first year.

They didn’t come out with the title, but their new coach left an impression on them nonetheless.

“I still talk to most of those kids, and I think it’s just helped them grow in their life now,” Burns said. “They enjoyed the process of playing in the state championship game, and they took whatever they could from that process. Some of them are getting ready to graduate college now, which is crazy to me, but I keep in touch with them.”

Burns eventually made it back to the state championship this fall. Her 201st career win was her first career state title.

But as much as she’s been able to succeed on the court, what she builds off the court is just as crucial.

“She’s got these girls to buy in,” her husband Nick Burns said. “I remember at Caprock, we played [at Randall] and we stole a set off of Randall. That was huge. That was huge. I remember standing up there, acting a fool. We just beat Randall in a set. I mean, that’s unheard of of Caprock, you get what I’m saying? It’s just phenomenal, the way she gets these girls to buy in.”

With a state title under her belt now, Haleigh Burns is building her own legacy, brick by brick.

And she’s just getting started.

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