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On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa
Sterling (Oct. 19, 2010) - There are certain waypoints in our lives that make us stop and think about how we got to where we are.
Certainly Senior Night is such a moment for a high school athlete and the lone senior for Potomac Falls High School volleyball this season, Kayla Motheral, had an emotional night Monday as her Panthers swept neighbor Dominion, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19.
Those scores have meaning for the district standings but in the grand scheme of things, those numbers are fairly meaningless. What really matters in this story is how Kayla got to her senior season ... heck, how she even stuck it out past her first day of tryouts her freshman year.
This is a story best told by Panther coach Linda Lachey-Helms:
"Kayla is a great story. She didn't want to go back to tryouts after the first day her freshman year. Encouraged by her parents she stuck it out. She was one of the last girls we kept on the freshman team."
You know now why coaches agonize over those final cuts because they truly make a difference.
Lachey-Helms continues: "The next year because of her natural blocking ability we wanted to keep her on the varsity and she wasn't sure. Again, encouraged (never forced or pressured by her parents) by her parents and coaches she gave it a try and started every game for us."
The key here -- and it is not easy -- is for parents to encourage their young athletes rather than pressure them ... something I struggle with in dealing with my two boys.
Lachey-Helms picks up the story: "She needed to gain strength in her tall 6-foot frame and reluctantly she attended a strength and quickness program and it made a huge difference. She had a great season for us as a junior. Then she decided to try out for club volleyball. She made the NVVA select team and enjoyed a great club season."
And just when everything was going Kayla's way, tragedy struck as her father Greg died of a heart attack this past March.
Said Lachey-Helms: "Greg was our one of our strongest parent fans. Always there encouraging all the girls and was always there for Kayla. He would have been so proud of the season Kayla is having and how she handles herself as a role model and leader for my young players."
Kayla's continued inspired play has led her verbally committing to play on scholarship next year at Shepherd University.
Her father will not be forgotten in the Panther volleyball program which has started the Greg Motheral Memorial Volleyball Scholarship and the team has been raising funds in many ways. The girls have been counting aces, kills, and blocks for points and people can pledge per point.
Potomac Falls has also been selling button and key chains with art work that Kayla designed for the "Have a Heart" campaign for Potomac Falls volleyball. At lunch shifts the girls set up tables with cards and papers to give teens tips for a healthy heart to bring about awareness to start early to prevent heart disease. Kids, parents, and other fans can buy a chance for a dollar to serve for prizes between JV and Varsity matches.
"It has been a fun adventure and allows us to keep Greg alive in our hearts," said Lachey-Helms. "The scholarship will be given to a senior volleyball player who applies for it beginning next season."
Kayla Motheral had five kills, four blocks, six digs and an ace last night to help her team win. Those stats don't stack up, however, to what Kayla and her teammates have been doing off the court.
And in my opinion, lost in the hyperbole spewing about on the message boards and in comments sections on various websites, is the fact that high school athletics can teach valuable life lessons and that those lessons rarely come about from the actual outcome to the games.
It usually comes in how they got to here from there. And that is often a story worth telling.
