Rockhurst Volleyball

This fall my seventh grader played on her school volleyball team. Having never played before she had a steep learning curve and I suggested we go see the Hawks play a home game. Of course life got busy and it wasn't until this morning that my daughter piped up about seeing a game . . . and by the way they were playing their last home game today.

Anyway, we went and had quite a treat. First, this was volleyball the way it is supposed to be played-- pass, set, and spike (and lots of blocks and digs). The games were highly competitive and the first game (Rockhurst won 31-29) was tremendous (click here for recap). Looking at the program, it looks like the team, even though they lost this match, could be quite good next year -- lots of sophomores and juniors on the team. My daughter was quite impressed -- she is already planning on attending more matches next year.

Anyway, I came away with two revelations (in addition to figuring out how the Libero position works). First Rockhurst is blessed with some really good coaches. I knew about my friend and colleague Tony Tocco who is the winningest collegiate soccer coach in the country. But I did not know about Tracy Rietzke, the Rockhurst volleyball coach. His record after 21 years is impressive and I suspect he is like Coach Tocco and many other Rockhurst coaches -- he just loves the game and the people he coaches. They practice excellence in virtual anonymity. We are lucky to have them.

Which leads me to the second revelation -- one I am a bit ashamed of. This was the first sporting event I attended (except in passing by). When entering the arena I did not even know how much it would cost for admission. Nearly 15 years at Rockhurst and I have been very busy working my discipline, teaching my classes, and serving my School in a variety of ways; I have had soccer, basketball, basebally, and volleyball players in my classes. It is easy to get busy with our lives, but it is nice to get surprised even if it happens in your own backyard.