Fresh off his 26th season as Westlake's volleyball coach, Al Bennett had given no thought to retirement before he suffered a debilitating stroke on March 28.

Overnight, though, his chances of coaching again appeared doubtful as he took the first steps toward recovery at an area hospital. His speech was slurred. Walking was a struggle. He couldn't even touch his nose with his index finger.

"I had to ask for goggles because I kept poking my eye," Bennett joked this week.

Just five months after his wife, Cathy, rushed him to an emergency room in the wee hours of the morning, though, Bennett considers himself to be fortunate. He no longer needs a cane to walk, and he has regained most of his strength. Although he tires easily, he has returned to the Chaparrals for a 27th season.

"This keeps me young," Bennett, 60, said Tuesday after Westlake earned a four-set victory over District 14-6A rival Bowie. "I'm lucky to be coaching a great group of kids. Throughout this journey, I've learned as much from them as they have learned from me."

Bennett said his senior class "took ownership" of the team while he was hospitalized. He told his four captains -- outside hitter Kathryn Sharplin, middle blocker Taylor Flaherty, outside hitter Carly Turner and libero Claire Hahn -- to be prepared to take charge if his health didn't improve.

"Coach Bennett wants to coach us so badly, he keeps pushing himself," said Hahn, a University of Texas recruit who has helped the Chaparrals to a 24-6 record this season. "It concerns us a little, but we know how much he cares for us."

Bennett said he gave himself a May deadline to determine whether he would return for another season. His idea was to give Eanes school district officials enough time to find a suitable replacement if he decided his health prevented him from coming back.

"At that point, the doctors told me I'd probably be feeling a lot better when the season started (in August)," Bennett said.

One of the most respected high school volleyball coaches in Texas, Bennett has led to Westlake to four state championships and eight state finals. The Chaparrals have won 23 district championships in 26 years, and more than 70 of his players have signed with a college program. In 2014, he was named co-national coach of the year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association after Westlake finished 42-5 and reached the Class 6A regional semifinals.

Bennett's health scare spawned a few changes at Westlake. He has delegated more responsibility to assistant coaches Lynne Bryant, Tanna Fiske, Jane Karnes, Abby Howden and Lizzi Bruns. Instead of three daily practices this summer, he cut back to two. He takes occasional afternoon naps now.

He also gave up his role as Westlake's athletic coordinator for girls sports, a post now held by softball coach Haley Gaddis.

"It's been a difficult adjustment," said Bennett, who continues to teach a history course at the high school. "I'd spent my whole life going 100 miles an hour, and all of a sudden I couldn't do that. There are still a lot of things I'm battling, but the kids are looking out for me."

Some things, though, remain the same.

"Coach Bennett wakes up thinking about ways to improve his team and goes to sleep still thinking about what he can be doing better as a coach," said Howden, a 2009 Westlake graduate who played on state runner-up squads in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Bennett said he suffered two strokes -- a minor one on March 24 followed by a more damaging one on March 28.

"During my first stroke, I thought I had vertigo," he recalled. "I felt lousy, slurred my words, had trouble walking. The bad part is that I kept driving."

Four days later, Bennett awoke at 2 a.m. and knew something was terribly wrong. He tried to get out of bed to get a glass of water but couldn't move.

"I tried talking, but everything came out gobbledygook," he said, describing himself as "stupid" for not responding to warning signs regarding his health. He suffers from high blood pressure, he said, but thought he could control it with exercise.

"After spending four weeks in the hospital, your only worry is whether your right arm and right leg will ever work again," Bennett said.

At this point, Bennett takes a daily cocktail of prescribed medications, including blood thinners, to help to prevent another stroke. He said he still feels a "tingle" after the strokes -- "something I'll probably have the rest of my life" -- but expects to be back to full strength by March.

In the meantime, Bennett's players are doing their best to keep winning matches for their coach.

"He's given so much to us, I feel we owe it to him to give everything we have," said Turner, who will play at Georgia Southern next season.

Bennett said he's unsure when he'll retire and that he's having too much fun with this particular team to let go now. His roster includes seven seniors, plus sophomore middle blocker Holly Campbell, who's already being recruited by Texas, Florida, USC and Washington.

"I'll say this -- I'm not going to be Joe Paterno, that's for sure," Bennett said. "I've always felt like I'd know when it's time (to retire). I don't want people to ever say, 'Oh, he should have retired last year.' As long as the fire is still in my belly -- and my wife and I can manage my health -- I want to coach."

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