Aaron Heim from Monroe, WI has been named the next Head Volleyball Coach for the Highland Cougars. This will be Heim's second year with the program.
Head Coach Aaron Heim is a former Right Side Hitter. He played three years collegiately for men's club volleyball teams at both UW-Madison and UW-Platteville. In his second year at Platteville in 2015, Heim helped the Pioneers to place fifth in the Division II National Tournament.
"My playing careers in Madison and Platteville sparked a passion for the sport inside of me that I didn't know I had," said Heim. "I'm so thankful for the experiences I've had, and all of the teammates and coaches from whom I've learned so much."
After his playing career, Heim coached JV Volleyball at Monroe High School in Wisconsin, right across the street from the elementary school where Heim works at as a Licensed School Counselor. Heim spent four seasons coaching the JV teams, and in his fifth season he stepped up to Varsity Assistant Coach for the program in fall 2021. Since his first coaching position, Heim also coached two years for Novus Volleyball Academy, a club organization out of Lena, IL.
Heim's first year at Highland started by Co-Head Coaching with second-year Coach Lindsay Stodden this previous fall season. Heim and Stodden led their roster of only 8 athletes to an 11-15 record in their first season together. The season was highlighted with a home win against #15 nationally ranked Rock Valley Community College and a third-place finish in the Arrowhead Conference.
"My goals are to push the Cougar Volleyball Program to the highest level of success. It's an exciting opportunity to develop the strongest relationships with my student-athletes as possible, while simultaneously pushing them to be the best versions of themselves in life...this goes far beyond their abilities on the court, and their two years at Highland.", said Heim.
Coach Heim believes that there is no substitute for establishing a positive culture in a program early. "The culture of my teams has always been a top priority. Without a sense of established trust between players and coaches, a program cannot reach its true maximum level of success. A strong program's athletes understand that they have the freedom to take chances on the court and make mistakes throughout the season, but also know they may have to step outside of their traditional comfort zones to achieve team goals. This starts with me and will be something I plan to positively model and instill each season," said Coach Heim.
Coach Heim jumped into recruiting immediately upon accepting his position at Highland prior to last season. In the few short months before his first season, Heim recruited two international athletes for his first season this past fall and plans to build on this going forward. "My goal is to find the players with the most passion for the sport, and the ones that wish to learn valuable life skills in addition to athletics. Highland consistently attracts strong talent from the local areas, which is an avenue I plan to continue to draw from. I also want to attract new ideas and diverse talent. To me, that doesn't stop at the boundaries of Illinois, or even our country as a whole", said Heim.
After his first season, Coach Heim is motivated to continue his work with the Cougars Volleyball program. "I look forward to growing this program. I've loved every minute at Highland so far and am so thankful to the administration for the opportunity. I think the foundation that Coach Stodden and Coach Groshans established before me is a great starting point as we continue to advance Cougar Volleyball even further", said Heim.
