New Bremen coach Diana Kramer and daughter Maria following last weekend’s regional title win over Defiance Tinora. (Press Pros Photo Courtesy of Jeff Paul/JP Photography)
It was a veritable vestige of the old phrase…what goes around, comes around…as the children of area volleyball coaches follow in the path of the sport, and with great success.
There is a scripture in the Old Testament, Proverbs, I believe, that says…train your child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it.” It’s Proverbs 22:6, to be exact.
And what I saw last week during the regional rounds of the OHSAA state volleyball tournament was the real-life example of that coming true through area volleyball coaches like New Bremen’s Diana Kramer, and I’m sure the same can soon be said for St. Henry’s Tricia Rosenbeck.
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In fact, it’s already true for a freshman in college named Spencer Etzler, who’s not only playing college volleyball for Stanford University…she’s a star for the Cardinal program in just her first year out of Coldwater High School and the Midwest Athletic Conference, where she played for her mother, Nikki.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
It’s volleyball week in Ohio, for sure…the spotlight’s at its brightest. And what’s happening in these three instances – and others across the state too many to mention – is that the children of coaches who grow up in a volleyball home are becoming imprinted with the sport that Mom, or Dad, is coaching and those kids want to follow in their example.
“When I was coaching at St. Henry and we won the state championship in 2011 my daughter Maria was just ten months old,” said New Bremen’s Diana Kramer on Monday. “And I remember thinking at the time when we were awarded the championship trophy…how neat it would be if there should come a day when my own daughter experience this?”
And voila’! Guess what. This weekend at the Nutter Center – Thursday, in fact – Maria Kramer will experience the thrill of competing as a freshman for the four-time state champion Cardinals in the state tournament.
And not only as a team member, the young Kramer had 23 digs last weekend in their regional title win over Defiance Tinora, the same team that knocked out Mom’s team in the regional round a year ago.
This is how how Coldwater’s Spencer Etzler made it to Stanford, where she was a notable contributor to the Cardinal program in her freshman year.
“Maria’s had a great year,” said Mom by phone. “And what I’m proud of is the speed of the game she’s experiencing at this level. The serves are so aggressive, she’s playing on the back line, and the first contact with the ball is the essence of what you do in volleyball. People think it’s just the hitting that goes on at the net, but it’s the serve/receive in the back of the court that dictates how volleyball is played. Maria’s not only playing, but she’s playing well.”
At Coldwater last year Spencer Etzler was such a key figure in the Cavaliers Division VI state title that she was vigorously recruited by Stanford University to come West and play for one of the PAC 12’s best programs. Since then the Cardinal program has joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. At 5’8″ Etzler played as a hitter at Coldwater, but at Stanford…the hitters and the girls at the net are much bigger – 6’3″, 6’4″, and 6’5″ – and Etzler has played all year as the team’s defensive specialist in the back…the libero.
And play, she has. In a recent nationally televised game with the University of Missouri, Etzler was a whirling dirvish on the court, diving and saving points right and left from reaching the floor. She was all the broadcast analysts could talk about. “Her impact as a freshman is amazing,” said one. “You don’t see many girls her age that come so prepared to contribute at this level of the sport.”
Some day, for sure…St. Henry coach Tricia Rosenbeck and daughter Ensley enjoy the moment following the Redskins’ regional win last Saturday over Fort Recovery.
Frankly, it was a warm and fuzzy for even me, watching at home, because I had watched Etzler play for the past four years as a high schooler against New Bremen and St. Henry. I had seen her grow up in the way she should go, and she was indeed benefiting from doing all the hard work and the intense coaching along the way.
And can you imagine the moment for her parents – her mother Nikki – the long-time coach and teacher at Coldwater?
But back to the here and now.
“It was an emotional moment for me,” said Kramer, pictured this past weekend with daughter Maria, who also added 7 kills and a service ace in the Cardinals’ big win over Tinora.
And that’s not all.
If you noticed the photo at the bottom of the St. Henry-Fort Recovery game story following last Saturday’s St. Henry regional final win at Northmont, you’ll see Redskins coach Tricia Rosenbeck celebrating with daughter Ensley.
A little small to play libero yet, but…Proverbs 22:6. Look at that face.
How could she not?
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