Middleton, Fla. — It wasn't that Skylar Martin was necessarily looking for freedom from her father.

A woman in her early-twenties trying to find her own way in the world typically doesn't need much reason for that.

But the decision to stray from her dad's chair as head coach at First Academy-Leesburg — and instead join the coaching ranks of The Villages High School volleyball team — was one rooted in hope and eagerness to be a part of something more.

It's safe to say that as the Buffalo (14-12) prepare to face No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (19-5) in Saturday's Class 3A-Region 2 semifinals in Orlando, Martin has found just that and then some.

"It's exceeded every expectation I've had in wanting to be a part of this program," said Martin, who serves as one of two assistant coaches for VHS. "Coming into it, I was a little nervous and maybe even a little skeptical because I'd always had my dad to coach with and learn from everyday. But it's been an incredible experience and even better than I could've ever imagined."

After starring herself at First Academy in Leesburg, Martin went on to play collegiately at St. Johns River State College in Palatka. After one season and with a desire to be closer to home, she transferred to Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg, where she led the LakeHawks in kills, total attacks and points during the 2019 season.

Martin then closed out her indoor career and moved toward playing beach volleyball for two more years, before focusing more on remaining around the sport in a coaching capacity. She came aboard the First Academy-Leesburg staff beneath her father, Jeff, where she remained under his wing for three seasons to help oversee both the Eagles' varsity and junior-varsity programs. 

"We sort of tag-teamed everything together," Martin said. "We obviously had that father-daughter connection where we could communicate and work anything out. It was just about everything I could've ever wanted — coaching volleyball and doing it with my dad — but it was like there was just still something more."

That inkling turned into a realization upon crossing paths with Michele Moreman, head volleyball coach at VHS and director of the Buffalo Stampeders youth volleyball club program in The Villages, who quickly noticed something in Martin and the way she carries herself around the court.

"Just right away, you get a sense of the different things she brings and how she can impact a program," Moreman said of Martin. "She's a sports management major, so she's got this business side to her in running a program. But then you get to know her personality and how she interacts with the girls. Add in that she played at the next level — it was a no-brainer — we had to get her onboard."

Moreman brought the 24-year-old Martin along in a coaching role within the Buffalo Stampeders youth volleyball program, coaching the 13- and- 14-year-old squads over the past three years, before finally convincing Martin to join the VHS staff prior to this season. Martin served not only as an assistant varsity coach, but also as head coach of the VHS junior-varsity team this fall.

"It took some convincing to get her to come coach high school with me, and I might've had to sell it a little bit to get her out of (Leesburg) and over here," Moreman said. "But I'm sure glad I did and I know she is, too."

The Buffalo are also seemingly thrilled with Martin's arrival, picking up the program's first regional playoff win since 2012 earlier this week against Cocoa Beach. VHS, who swept Martin's former First Academy in a home win back on Oct. 7 in Middleton, is guaranteed to finish with a winning record after a disappointing 9-12 mark last season.

A good measure of Martin's impact in Year 1 has come by way of an introduction to analytical, real-time statistics on the bench, where she populates play-by-play data onto an iPad tablet program throughout each point. Those numbers are then used to help make Moreman's job — and critical in-game decisions — a little easier on game nights.

"In the middle of a game, I can go to (Martin) and ask her about our tendencies, where we're hitting or what mistakes we're making," Moreman said. "She can pull it up and provide me that information right away, and that's proven to be huge for us. Sometimes as a coach, you get caught up in the emotion of a game and you might miss what's actually happening, and she's got those numbers and that data readily available to help make some really big decisions."

VHS junior Viviana Toucet-Martinez echoed Martin's impact on the bench, noting the technological advances have helped the Buffalo advance into the regional semifinals.

"She's the most incredible person to be around, first and foremost," Toucet-Martinez said of Martin. "I feel like everyone should know that about her. But she does so much behind-the-scenes, so much with information and using it to help us get better as a team. She's a huge part of this program and she's a big reason why we've been able to accomplish what we have."

Martin's personality and willingness to engage in the lives of her players has also been a welcome aspect of her arrival, Moreman said, as she works alongside the tactician and technique-savvy assistant coach in Joe Darley.

"I've kind of had to come to terms that I'm not in my twenties anymore," Moreman said with a laugh. "So as a head coach, you need someone who can relate to them and get through to players in a different way. She's always going to be honest with them and shoot them straight, or say the hard thing they need to hear, and I think that's something they don't take for granted."

With only being a couple years removed from her competitive playing days in college, Martin has also been known to provide another real-time advantage each day to the Buffalo program: An on-court, power-hitting instructor in practice.

"I just love Coach Skylar, but especially when she gets into practice with us," said Buffalo freshman Isabella Bradley. "She teaches us so much and you can tell she's still such a hard competitor. Everything she does, it means a lot to us."

And it's that meaning to others that has allowed Martin to feel validated in her decision to not only take part in this new journey with The Villages, but to make a life-changing decision on her own.

"It's funny because I spent so much time (at First Academy) and put so much into wanting that program to succeed, and that's all I ever wanted to be a part of," Martin said. "But once I saw how much the girls want it here at The Villages, how hard they work and how devoted they are, it was a little bit easier to make that decision. You throw in the resources we have, the support from the community and the families of our players, it just makes you want to help build something special here."



Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.