"Coach Caitlin, do you even brush your hair?"

This past weekend, I coached my first 3-day volleyball tournament as a head coach. I have coached before, but always as an assistant or for a one-game-a-day school, so this was my first go around.

Volleyball has been a huge part of my life since I was 13 - middle school, high school varsity, club travel teams in both high school and college - but from the day I picked up a volleyball, it has been so much more than just a sport. I was lucky enough to play with the same 6 girls for 5 seasons in a row, and somewhere between doing each others' hair at Nationals in Miami (circa 2008) and rejoicing in each others' engagements (circa 2016) we became more than just teammates, more than just 10 girls coming together 3 times a week to play a sport. We became a family. Each of my coaches, from the encouraging Christian school mom to the 5-foot feisty high school coach, taught me something different and valuable that went beyond the 30 by 60 foot court - lessons that I carry with me each and every day. Without me even realizing it, volleyball, and the people that went along with it, had become something that I could always count on and turn to whenever I needed it. And that's why I knew I wanted to coach. I wanted to pass on the love that I have for this game and be someone that creates such a love in a kid that was just like me.

Like every other ambitious young athlete, if you had told me that by 20 years old I would have traded the knee pads for a clipboard, I probably wouldn't have believed you. Today, I coach a 12 year old travel team at Triangle Volleyball Club. This is ironic, because Triangle was my team's biggest rival for the entirety of my high school career, but when I decided I wanted to coach, I knew I had to shoot for the top, and in this area, that meant Triangle. Walking in to that gym for the first time was one of the most intimidating things I have ever done. Triangle has some of the most experienced and winningest coaches in the nation, and the director thought that I could stand among them - no pressure... But from the start, I was surrounded by encouragement and support and people that wanted me to succeed, not only as a coach and an educator, but as a person.

From the minute I met the 10 girls that would be on my 12 White team, I realized that the season was going to be a lot more than just playing volleyball. In the last two months these girls have made me laugh until my stomach hurts, close my eyes and count to 10 in frustration, and tear up in pride. I knew from day 1 that I was going to be challenged; challenged to do things like keep their attention for more than 30 seconds in a drill and teach them how to both win and lose with grace and humility. There have been moments of struggle, diffusing arguments when someone stole the ball someone else was about to serve, and trying to encourage the defeated athletes that are losing by 12 points in the most important game of the weekend, but there have been so many more moments of incredible joy. There are girls who get a serving ace and smile so big their cheeks must be sore for days; there are parents who send emails telling me how much their daughter loves the team and coming to practice and thanking me for my hard work; there is the sweet 9-year-old that cried after our last match last year because she was going to miss me over the summer; and there are the other teams' coaches within Triangle that watch our matches and offer advice and support and encourage me to keep doing everything that I'm doing. All of these moments make me so thankful that I have found a way to continue being a part of the sport that I have loved for so long.

While we didn't win our tournament this weekend, I spent the three days in a gym reminiscing on my own memories playing and creating many more coaching. I was able to better get to know 10 amazing and hard-working girls who make every second I spend in the gym worth while. I got to listen to and learn from nationally recognized coaches that represent the goal that I hope to reach some day. I love what I do because I get to give back to the sport that gave me so much to hold on to and will continue to be a rock the rest of my life. I know I have so much more to learn, but I'll tell you what, I'm just enjoying the ride.

#volleyball #coaching #TriangleVolleyballClub