JUNIORS JOURNAL Stepping up in tough times
After her coach’s tragic death, our juniors columnist knows her leadership is needed by Jaimee Rindy
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or the entirety of my career as a volleyball player, I’ve been the underdog. I’ve always been one of the younger ones, or a newcomer. I’ve always been on teams that already had the leadership role fi lled. I’ve had to wait to leave my own impression. Until now.
F This season – my senior season at
Eagle Valley High in Gypsum, Colo. – is my chance to be a leader. And it has never been more important. Tragically, our team’s head coach, Garrett LaForce, died over the summer in an automobile ac- cident. He was not only my coach, he was my friend. My teammates and I have been turning to each other for comfort. Our new coach, Lindsey Myers, was
our school’s JV coach last year, and she was a friend of Garrett’s as well. Knowing that we are all going through this hardship together, the best thing we can do for her and she can do for us is to be there for support. Despite this tragedy, we now have a deeper connection that allows us to trust each other and believe that we can be successful. As a team, we refuse to be weak and broken.
As we begin this season still coping with sadness and a sense of loss, I realize I have to step up. I feel like I possess the necessary leadership qualities, and I’m ready for the challenge. I have confi dence in myself and my team. I am driven as a competitor, and I have an immense amount of passion that I hope I can spread to the rest of my team. There are many different styles of leadership, mine being lead-by-example. I want people to choose to follow me after they have seen what I’ve accomplished through hard work. I want people to fi nd their own trust in me based on the things I have done. I will always speak my mind, but only to those who are willing to listen. I also realize the importance of off-court relations. If I’m going to lead by example, I’m going to do it all the time, not just in the gym. I want to be the person my team- mates can look up to outside of volleyball. The relationship that’s built outside of the game can be transferred to the court. I believe that leaders should give people reasons to follow them. “Leader” is not
just a title you can wear and fl aunt and take advantage of. As a leader, I have great responsibility, and I am honored to be trusted with it. Part of what excites me about being a mentor to some of my young-
er teammates is that, under the guidance of our new head coach, I get to teach them myself. I love being a respected player and someone they can come to with ques- tions and learn from. I want to see them be successful so that when I walk away from this season, I can rest knowing that I have prepared the next leaders. It brings me joy to see players having success with moves I taught them. To know that I played a role in someone’s improvement is a huge reward. Through training younger players, I have realized that there is a future for me in coaching.
I am honored to be a part of this team. I want to lead these girls. I want to guide and help them during a time when our hope was shattered. This is when we all learn the kind of strength we have. Lead- ers are constantly tested with diffi cult positions, and I am up for the challenge. We will not be a broken team. We will be a team winning for my coach and fi ghting for each other. I want this team to surprise everyone, and I cannot wait to lead such an amazing group of people. Perhaps in patiently waiting for my moment to be a leader, I learned great lessons myself. I’ve been watching other great leaders, girls who have a natural ability to make people follow them. I’ve seen many different styles of leadership and discovered the way I like to lead. Of course, there will be times when it’s dif- fi cult to be the leader. But I am not scared away just because something is diffi cult. The rewards and great moments that be- ing a leader will provide me are far more signifi cant than the few bumps we may hit along the way. I believe in myself now and know that as a leader of my team, I can make a world of difference in the greatest of ways.
26 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
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