2010 Highlights

I completed my 4th season coaching volleyball at our local high school, first year was as the Junior Varsity(JV) coach and the last three as varsity coach. This was definitely a highlight of my year. This was a very fun group to coach, oh we had some moments, but they are a great group of young ladies.

We had a winning record for the first time in a long time and we had some gut wrenching losses. It was a year of some great steps forward, beating a conference leader for the first time and making a great run at the county tourney. One of those gut wrenching losses was in that county tourney. The hardest loss was the final one. It was in the District tourney. It was an amazing match to watch. Both of our teams lost one of our best just before the match. They lost a girl to sickness and we lost one to a torn ACL on the last moment of warmups. That was the last match but it is not the lasting impression of the season for me.

I remember we overcame some difficult circumstances in the deaths of a fellow student and of a teammate's niece. I was so proud of them as they faced these tough moments. I remember the 4 hour early practices, the deals they tried to make to lessen some of the work, sometimes they won. I remember some awesome hits, great digs, perfect passes, pinpoint sets, monster blocks and special serves. I remember the laughing, they have some of the best laughs. I remember nicknames, even for me. I remember the hard work they put in. I remember the food at saturday tourneys. I remember some funny falls and moments that just made me shake my head.

This year was especially fulfilling because this group of seniors have been with me for all four years of my coaching. I had them on JV my first year, 2 of them have been with me all three years on varsity and the other all six of them have been together again the past two years. I have watched them grow as athletes, as volleyball players, but more importantly in intelligent, beautiful young women who are going to make a real difference in the world. I am so proud of them.

Next year will be really different to begin volleyball without any of them. But they have helped turn the program around and their fingerprints will be all over this program for a while. I am looking forward to next year but it will be different.

Coaching volleyball with some of the greatest girls anywhere was a definite highlight this past year.