York County volleyball coach stepping down after leading team to historic season
Phil Autrey knows it looks like he decided to go out with a storybook ending.
But he said he had already made the decision long before the ending materialized.
After 10 seasons leading the York Catholic girls' volleyball team, Autrey has decided to resign to focus on his professional career. This past fall, he led the Irish to the most successful season in program history ― a 24-3 record, District 3 Class 2A title and its first appearance in the state final. York Catholic lost the PIAA title match 3-0 (21-25, 15-25, 18-25) to District 7 champion Freeport.
Still, Autrey said it would've been his final season regardless of how the Irish did in the playoffs.
"The middle of the season is when I decided," Autrey said. "Every year I think about what's next and what's coming up in my non-coaching life. We've been super successful at York Catholic, but it was about halfway through that I came to the peaceful decision that this is the right time. The way this season ended was great, but my decision wouldn't have been different if we didn't win districts and make it to states."
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The 49-year-old Autrey is a former math teacher at York Catholic, but has spent the past few years working for Noodle, a company that helps colleges develop online courses and programs. While he typically has flexible hours during volleyball season, he spent the weeks following the state final this fall traveling to Seattle and New Orleans to work with colleges in those areas.
He said he might making those trips more frequently in the future and can't commit as much time to volleyball.
Autrey also started a boys' volleyball program at York Catholic in 2021 and plans to coach that team this spring before also stepping down from that role.
The past year has been a time of transition for York Catholic athletics. Former head football coach Eric Depew left the school after a dominant 10-year run to take the same position at Red Land this fall. Successful girls' lacrosse coach Rob Linthicum also stepped down after 14 seasons this fall. When announcing the open volleyball position this week, the school also posted the girls' soccer head coaching job.
"This December I was at Tulane, and those are the trips I just can't do during the season," Autrey said. "Looking ahead, I might be traveling more and I might have more responsibility. My employer has been great with flexibility, but I might not be able to say: 'It's 4:30 and I'm on a call but I've got to get out of here and go to practice.' The program needs to be in good hands and if I can't give 100% this is the right time."
While the Irish went 4-12 his first season in 2013, Autrey led York Catholic to nine straight winning seasons that included a District 3 Class 1A title in 2015 and a second district crown this past seasons. But the years between those championships included a lot of near misses and heartbreak.
After bumping up to Class 2A in 2016, York Catholic lost in the District 3 title match five times in six seasons ― with a semifinal loss coming in 2019. The first three championship defeats came to rival Delone Catholic. The final two came against powerhouse Trinity. Since only the District 3 champion advances to the state playoffs in Class 2A, York Catholic saw its season end early every year despite regularly being ranked top 10 in the state.
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While York Catholic was often the underdog in those matches, it was favored in 2018 after a 16-1 regular season but was swept by Delone. In 2020, the Irish were missing several starters due to COVID and was swept by Trinity.
Autrey took those defeats hard. In 2018, he couldn't contain his emotions and cried following the match.
"The last thing I said to them was, 'When we win districts and go to states it's because of you,'" he said through tears that day. "'It may not be this year, but it'll be because of you.'"
Autrey was so emotional because York Catholic volleyball wasn't just a team to him.
A Bethlehem Catholic graduate, he grew up playing volleyball because his older sister, Tara, always played the sport. Tara later moved to York and all of her children took up volleyball. An assistant at Trinity at the time, Autrey applied for the York Catholic job knowing he would get the chance to coach his nieces.
McKenna Walker graduated in 2019, and Madeline Walker graduated last spring. McKenna captained Juniata College to a NCAA Division III national title this fall.
Autrey has said all of York Catholic's players became like nieces to him over the years. Still, he said he grew better at processing disappointment the past few seasons.
"The focus shouldn't be on me, but I really wanted (a championship) for the girls and the program and all the teams that got close before," he said. "2018 was the first time I thought we had a legit chance and weren't just happy to be there. Our girls had worked so hard. But then you realize every team at that stage works really hard, and it's about consistency in the program. It wasn't going to be our only shot at it, and that helped me have a better mindset."
When York Catholic entered the playoffs this season, Autrey felt OK about resigning even if the Irish lost another district final. But when Trinity dominated the Irish, 25-14, in the first set of the championship match, he admitted thinking "this is not how I want to go out."
Thankfully, the Irish "found another gear" and won three straight sets to claim those elusive gold medals. York Catholic then won three more matches to reach the state final. However, the Irish finally ran into a better team against Freeport and finished with silver medals.
Autrey said he felt more proud than disappointed after that match.
"We went home and took the players out for pizza, and it felt like a celebration," Autrey said. "It truly felt like a great accomplishment. We got a medal that day, and there are 500 teams in the state that didn't have that chance."
Autrey will coach his nephew, Brady Walker, on the boys' team this spring. He said he'll probably coach again at some point but it'll depend "on timing."
He's still processing his emotions after a whirlwind volleyball campaign and busy holiday season. But while he would've been proud of his tenure no matter what, he's glad to have finished on a high note.
"It certainly was icing on the cake to go out in that fashion," he said. "The girls deserve all the credit for that."
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.