A Pretty Cool 5 Seconds

Sometimes, it only takes 5 seconds for something to become crystal clear.

I wandered in to the last 20 minutes of Day 4 of the LWHS Volleyball tryouts and was immediately struck by the number of girls and the level of activity in our small, but nice gym. 3 courts had the girls packed tight and balls were flying everywhere. The sound of rubber shoes on the gym floor and "mine" echoing throughout. I gave a quick wave to Maddie and stood out of the way near court 1 where she was setting one side and our new Sophomore transfer from KJ was setting the other side. There was no setter depth this year so having this gal tranfer in, even being so young, was a good step. I noticed another dad and introduced myself and it turns out he was the other setters dad. What is is about setter dads that make us want to watch our girls excel? But I digress. When I told him who my daughter was and asked about moving up from Kent, he said that they had looked at houses near several Eastside schools but settled on LW because of the volleyball program and to a large part because of Maddie. That stunned me a bit and I asked Mads about it later. She explained that the family had reached out to our coach who encouraged her to email Maddie's mom (my ex) who is the Team Mom. Mom and Maddie met the Kent family and gave them a tour of the school and the gym and took them out for dinner to their favorite pizza joint and the dad told me that Maddie and Kristin were the clincher. So what a wonderful tribute to both Maddie AND to Kristin who has given hours and hours of her time to help this program. Not much get mentioned in the blog about mom, but she is the glue that has held this program together for 2 years, and the fact that a record 56 girls showed up for tryouts is a testament to her hard work. Maybe 56 girls would be disappointing at other schools in the area, but for a 3 year school that has just transitioned to a 4 year school and is still small (2A) compared to the others in the districts, this is a pretty astounding thing. 2 years ago this team had varsity and JV, last year they added a C Team, and this year there will be TWO Frosh/C Teams. 100% growth in 2 years.

Anyway, back to the point of the post. As the session wore down, I watched Maddie. Girls were approaching her for a word or a hug, some with tears in their eyes (tryouts can be heart wrenching), she would joke with a veteran, help take down the nets (she gets there an hour early every day to make sure the nets are put UP), and then coach called them into a big group to talk, all 56 of them, and when she was done, they raised their fists in the air and from deep within the circle, Maddie's voice rang out: "Here we go. Kangs on three. One, two, three KANGS!" And it was in that 5 seconds, when 55 girls looked to her to bring them together, that I realized my daughter was a leader. And to this dad, that's always what it's been about.  I've watched her serve to advance deep in the playoffs, I've watched her give up her body to save a ball heading out of bounds, I've watched her crumple to the floor in pain only to get back up and play though the tears, but I've never been more proud of her than I was during those 5 seconds. This is your team now, Maddie, lead them. Schedule soon!

I hope all your DD's made it to the team they wanted to play on; share your stories!

2012 Volleyball Tryouts Begin!

The posts should start heating up now that tryouts are underway for the 2012 Kang squad. Not as much angst as in years past with Maddie the clear cut #1 setter, but nothing is for certain with a new coaching staff in place. I will reserve judgement for now, but it has not been the smoothest of transitions. While the previous coach wasn't perfect, the girls knew her and she knew them...and now we have someone running the show who is trying to set things up HER way, and that can lead to some grumbling and alienation among the seniors. I'll be swinging by this week to check things out. I just pray that by laying down new laws, the staff does not kill the chemistry that would have carried over from a pretty good core group of seniors. Here we go!