tradition of excellence

I had the pleasure of attending a celebration on Friday & Saturday for Taylor volleyball's 1,000th program win making them the winningest volleyball program in NAIA history. I never expected to be a part of the Taylor volleyball program. I grew up about 45 minutes from the campus, but wanted no part in attending a university in Indiana. When I was a player at Cornerstone I had tremendous respect for the Taylor volleyball program. I always knew they had a rich tradition and always loved playing them. I remember two distinct wins over them - one at our home tournament when Lindsey Taatjes was a freshman. The second was at the Best of the Best tournament that same year.

In July of 2005 I was working a summer volleyball camp at Notre Dame when I got an email from my friend Elissa. She notified me of a position at Taylor that she had been offerred, but was declining because of another job opportunity. The position was for assistant volleyball coach and academic support director. I was intending to start my second year of teaching the next year, but couldn't help thinking about this opportunity. I spoke with Brittany Smith the new coach at Taylor, whom I had coached against the previous club volleyball season and she seemed interested in having me join her staff. I decided to go down to Upland for the interview, was offerred the job within the week and turned in my resignation at my school two weeks before the school year was supposed to begin.

I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I moved to Upland. It certainly was not easy, but I soon found out that God had a great purpose for me at Taylor. My three years there were all different and I grew immensely as a person and a coach. I developed a very special relationship with Brittany and Coach Fincannon and many of the players. Although I'm glad to be back in GR, I do not regret the decision I made to move to Upland.

One of the biggest reasons why I have no regrets is because I had the opportunity to become a part of the Taylor volleyball family. I already thought I was so lucky to have my own volleyball family from Cornerstone, but to have that experience times two is very special. On Friday night, former Taylor coach Angie Fincannon gave a wonderful speech describing all the elements that make TUVB so special. I couldn't help tearing up because I feel so blessed to have those same relationships with my teammates and former coach. All the alumni and former coaches who were there take so much pride in their program and expect nothing less that full effort and excellence to glorify God each and every year.

It was for this reason that I did get a little sad during the evening because I feel my former program is lacking in this tradition. We don't have the storied tradition that Taylor does, but we could if the right people were heading our athletic department and volleyball program. That's the biggest reason why I've prayed for that opportunity the last few years.

I had quite a unique perspective as a former opponent of many of the TUVB alumni, but still feel very honored to share in their tradition of excellence.