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winning as a coach. Not because
it adds anything to my resume, but
because nothing beats watching my
kids set goals and reach them. Vol-
leyball wise, we shared the NCTL
Stars Division two years ago and this
past season we won a District Title
and reached the Regional Final game
which was only the second time in
school history. In softball, we shared
the NCTL Stars Division Title two
seasons ago and this past season we
won it outright. Hopefully past success
can lead to more this season.
What have you learned from partici-
pating in this sport/activity? People
matter. Wins and success are nice but
you rarely find either without the help
of others. Every member of a team
has an important role, a specific skill
set that will help the team as a whole
improve. Every season provides new
challenges for me as a coach as well
as the players. The longer I coach,
the more I have come to realize that
relationships are critical to a team’s
success. I try to instill in my play-
ers that they need to show up each
and everyday giving their best effort
not only for themselves but for their
teammates. If every player works their
hardest, suddenly everyone is push-
ing each other. If you combine that
with a team first attitude, that is when you, they will follow whatever crazy di- Starbucks I see…. my soul is happiest
you know you are apart of something
special. If that happens, the focus is
on WE not ME, and that is the differ-
ence between a successful season
and a long, frustrating season.
What do you like the most about the
sport/activity? I love being a part of
a team. When my high school sports
career was over I really struggled with
adjusting to life without sports. Part
of it was going from always having a
season to prepare for or a practice to
attend, but what I found I missed most
was the team aspect. The ability to
share the burden of the goal you are
fighting for with like minded people
really was something I undervalued.
Once I didn’t have that, I struggled
to replicate it. What I found is that it I am always up for a great concert or
really cannot be replicated. To me,
coaching is as close as you can get to
that feeling. I always stress to my kids multiple depending on my mood. I
to not take that time for granted and
I work everyday to make their experi-
ence the best it can be.
What is your favorite moment? On
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the court, hands down my favorite
memory is when we won our District
Volleyball Title last season. We had
some adversity to overcome in the
days before tournament play started.
The team came together with a confi-
dence I hadn’t seen all season. Every
now and then when you are around
sports long enough you come across
a magical run. We came together at
the right time and played our best
stretch of volleyball until we ran into
the eventual state runner up in Fowler.
However, one of the best things in my
opinion about being a coach is when
you see your kids become amazing
adults. It’s not about being “success-
ful”, its seeing them navigate their
paths, sometimes flawlessly and every
now and then having to ask for direc-
tions or look at a GPS. But no matter
the ease of the navigation, they make
the best of the adventure because
they have learned how to successfully
battle the highs and lows of life.
One tip for someone looking to get
into this sport/activity: Show your team help prepare them for their path. My
the real you, in today’s world it’s hard favorite color is blue, I love music and
to find things that are not airbrushed,
sugar coated or fake. In my experi-
ence, success happens when your
team knows what you stand for and
why you stand for it. If they believe in setting that forces me to stop at any
rection you want to take them. I never
claim to know everything, in fact I am
always reading/learning about ways
to be better, but my players always
know that the heart of my coaching
philosophy is to help make them the
best people they can be.
Are there any other activities you
love? If I am not coaching or talk-
ing sports, I can probably be found
watching sports. I try to support the
other Cardinal sports teams during
their seasons. On most Saturdays in
the fall, you will find me in Ann Arbor
for Michigan Football games with my
crew. I am a huge Michigan fan and
find my way down there for other
sports multiples times a year as well.
catching a movie. I usually always
have a book I am reading, sometimes
love spending time with my family and
friends on whatever crazy adventure
we find ourselves in next.
Where can we find you in the off sea-
son? I love to create things. My Pinter-
est addiction is real and I am always
working on some form of a project. I
love working with wood or repurpos-
ing something someone would throw
away and turn it into something awe-
some. My brother and I work really
well together when it comes to this
kind of stuff so whether its a project for
myself, a family member or someone
sends me a picture of something and
asks me if we can make it, we usually
always have something in the works.
Bless him and his patience when I call/
text him “Hey, I have this crazy idea!”.
He helps me take what is in my head
and make it happen in real life.
Anything else you think we should
know about you? I’d like to think there
isn’t too much mysterious about me. I
am passionate about the kids I coach,
the kids I work with at school everyday
and the community we all call home.
I have worked hard in the last year or
so at introducing leadership curricu-
lum to our kids whenever possible to
movies. I geek out over Shark Week
on the Discovery Channel. My favor-
ite superheroes are Captain America
and Wonder Woman. My car has a
when I have a book in my hand and
I hear waves crashing. I find the best
way to attack life is with humor, and I
am blessed to have so many amazing
people in my life. I work hard everyday
to make them proud.