Dr. Emelia Bracken has taken the reigns as the new head volleyball coach at Central Catholic High School. Bracken, a 2013 graduate of Central Catholic, earned a degree in exercise science from John Carroll University in 2017. She owns HOF Sport & Spine in Canton.
As a student-athlete at Central Catholic, Bracken played volleyball and was a varsity starter for the Crusaders, breaking the school's serving ace record twice during her career. She also competed in basketball, swimming, and track, believing "in the Crusader mentality, that there are benefits of being a multi-sport athlete." She lettered in both volleyball and track.
As well as working as a chiropractor, Bracken has been coaching volleyball at the club and high school level. Most recently coaching at CCHS under former head coach, Lauren Colla. The Crusaders have experienced great success, under the coaching staff of Colla, Bracken, and Sarah Miller. They made the final four in 2023/2024 and regional semi-finals in 2022/2023 in the OHSAA post-season. Bracken also coaches for Elite Sports Ohio.
She is the daughter of Pep (Darren) & Theresa Bracken and Amy & Russ Yeagley. Bracken is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and resides in Canton.
Bracken looks forward to bringing her experience and passion for the sport to lead the Central Catholic volleyball program. She shared, that she "is looking forward to the continuation of a successful and robust volleyball program. We have strong varsity starters returning, lots of young talent, and strong freshmen coming into the program. Most importantly, our staff is excited to encourage each player to become the best version of themselves, on and off the court."