Free State volleyball coach Jayme Savage takes assistant principal role

Jayme Savage is leaving the Free State volleyball sideline for an assistant principal job, a move that shifts one of the school’s most familiar athletic leaders into administration. For Free State families, the immediate question is what happens next to a program Savage has shaped for years.

The Lawrence school district announced the change on June 8, placing Savage in an assistant principal role at Free State High School. That leaves the volleyball program needing a new head coach after Savage spent the last seven seasons in charge, following nine years as an assistant. She has been around the program since she was 13 and has spent 18 years with Free State volleyball overall.

Savage’s move also keeps her inside the building where she has already built roots beyond athletics. She has taught health and physical education at Free State since 2022 and previously taught special education and adaptive physical education for Lawrence Public Schools. Free State Athletics says Savage was born and raised in Lawrence and played volleyball, basketball and track at the school, giving the transition a strong homegrown connection in a district where many staff members know students first as athletes, classmates or neighbors.

On the court, Savage’s record gives the change added weight. The Lawrence Journal-World named her Coach of the Year in its 2025 all-area volleyball coverage after Free State returned to the state tournament in 2025 following a missed trip in 2024. The Firebirds finished 18-12 and posted the fifth-best record in the 6A West. That followed earlier success that included a school record for consecutive substate championships and a third straight trip to the Class 6A state tournament in 2021.

Savage’s next role places her alongside an existing administrative team that already includes principal Amy McAnarney, associate principal Amanda Faunce, assistant principals Matthew Renk and Adam Myer, and Jason Schroeder, who serves as assistant principal and athletic director. For Free State, the shift means one of its longest-linked athletic figures is moving from managing practice plans and match nights to helping guide the daily life of the school itself.