Ashley Dawn Dyer Ashley still haunts the dreams and creates sharp flashes of burning pain to the arms and faces of every volleyball defender who attempted to stop her in the past. Like her sister, Lindsay, Ashley was one of Perryton’s all-time leading volleyball players and athletes. Ashley went to state in both basketball and track during her high school career. Add in the fact that both girls had intelligence and beauty and the recipe for success was unstoppable.
Ashley graduated from Perryton High School in 2005. She was heavily recruited and attended Lubbock Christian University to play volleyball. She received All-Conference Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and was an All-Conference selection her sophomore year. Ashley was once again heavily recruited and chose West Texas A&M University after finishing at LCU. She played volleyball two more years at WTAMU, receiving Academic All-Conference honors in each of those years.
Ashley graduated with a master of science in mathematics in 2011. She is currently a math instructor at Amarillo College, where she has taught for eight years.
“I teach a range of courses from calculus to business math to algebra and serve on different college committees. Hands down, the best part of my job is being able to set my own schedule and having the same holidays and summer off as my kids. I think my job is pretty low stress, but the first day of school and meeting a class full of new students can still be a little nerve racking,” she commented.
Speaking of kids, Ashley and her husband, Jason Ashley, have three beautiful kids. Ashley met her husband while at West Texas A&M University. He is the owner of Hudson Brothers Roofing. The couple share a-five-year old daughter named Payton, a three-year old son named Jackson and a two-year old son named Benjamin.
The family lives in Canyon. Wearing purple took some adjustment for Ashley with her red Perryton roots and she said with a wide smile, “Ironically, we live in Canyon, which I never imagined myself wearing purple or being an Eagle, yet here I am!”
Ashley claims the root of her success is with her parents and several of her coaches. She appreciated that her parents followed her everywhere through every sport year after year.
“They were always there supporting me. They were my number one fans. There are definitely too many coaches to name, but all of my coaches in Perryton were the best. Coach Butler, Coach Davis, Coach Robertson, Coach Copeland and so many others were always pushing me to do my best, to be better than I was the day before, and be a better leader,” Ashley said.
Perryton offers up some of Ashley’s favorite memories. She commented, “Going to state in both track and basketball are my favorite memories. I went to state in basketball my freshman year, when my sister Lindsay was a senior. More than going to state, it was a huge honor to be pulled up to varsity and to be able to play with the seniors from that year, including my sister, Erin Hale, Kari Parvin and so many others.
“They were great leaders, and all played together so well as a team. I went to state in track my sophomore year in the 800-meter relay and then again in my senior year in triple jump.”
What Ashley misses most about Perryton is the support from the town. She remembers the stands always being packed for all the games in every sport. She also cannot forget about Dixie Dog or JoAnn’s BBQ. She still must grab a Dixie Dog beverage every time she is in town.
Mulligans are not necessary for Ashley. She plans to still be living in Canyon in 10 years and chasing her own kids from gym to gym or field to field.
She closed by saying, “One of my dreams has always been to teach at WT, since I graduated from there, so maybe I’ll have that one achieved in the next 10 years.”
(If you have suggestions for articles you would like to read on former Perryton residents, please call or text Randy Skaggs at (806) 202-0187 or email him at rskaggsdvm@hotmail.com.)