On October 31, head coach Dr. Perette Arrington led the varsity volleyball team to a DCIAA championship for the ninth consecutive year. That same day, Arrington recorded the 505th win in her 25 years of leading the program.
In all, Arrington has won 21 out of 23 of the program’s DCIAA titles along with claiming the championship and regular season undefeated for the ninth year straight. Ending the 2024 season, her career record with the Tigers is 506-118. Even against non-league competition, they remained dominant and finished as semifinalists in this year’s DCSAA volleyball playoffs.
It’s not easy for a team to remain on top, especially in such a rigorous sport. Arrington’s competitive spirit, passion for volleyball, and excellent coaching has kept the team motivated. She explained that the challenge is what she loves about volleyball: “It’s a complicated sport and that has lots of nuances. Not everybody can do it.”
This love for volleyball started when she was a player, and not just as a coach. She played at nearby Oxon Hill High School and racked up a resumé full of success; she and her fellow Lady Clippers were crowned Prince George’s county champions and 4A division state finalists. She went on to play D1 volleyball at Seton Hall University and earned her bachelor’s in psychology.
The lessons and skills she learned playing volleyball compelled her to give back to other female athletes. She carries this responsibility with pride, ensuring the student-athletes she coaches develop their skills while feeling passionate about what they do on and off the court.
In 1998, Arrington got her start at Jackson-Reed as a master’s-level school psychologist, but something was missing. She wanted to coach the volleyball team. It wasn’t until 2002 that she became varsity head coach. Although she paused her work to pursue her doctorate, she never gave up her coaching role, even if it meant commuting from Gaithersburg to DC.
Arrington wants the best for her players and strives to prepare them for not only the next level of the sport, but for life. So, she coaches her team like a college program. She wants to train them harder than they expect, believing that if you coach at the same level currently played, athletes will never progress.
She not only sees their potential, but expands on it, creating a path for her players to go as far as they’re willing to go. “I always say I have a crystal ball because I can see the potential in a player. I can see where they can be one, two, three, four years from now, and they don’t even know how good they can become,” Arrington said. “I’m training my players the way I was trained, with the same level, feedback and the correction [as] that’s the only way you can grow in the sport.”
If they end up not doing so well, or losing a game, Arrington will take the time to review it in practice. She routinely goes over the “do’s and don’ts” of volleyball and gives her players constructive feedback.
As she is also the school’s psychologist, Arrington incorporates that knowledge into coaching. If she notices a player being down on themselves during practice, she pulls them to the side and has a heart-to-heart conversation with them. Although in a game situation there is less time to talk, she still will quickly pull them to the side and make comments such as “get out of your own way” and “you’ve got this!”
Even though Arrington has a winning mindset, she prioritizes the other outcomes of team sports. She believes that learning the game directly correlates to developing a sisterhood, memories that will last a lifetime, and confidence that will help later in life. As a coach who pushes her players to be the best they can be, Arrington is passionate about what she does and the impact she has on her players. Ultimately, she wants them to carry her lessons with them throughout their lives. From one strong female athlete to another, “we are competitors and it’s okay to be tough. It’s okay to go hard. It’s not just men that are competitors. Women’s sports is another glass ceiling that we have to break.” •