Elder High School is known for having a strong athletic tradition, but few people think about volleyball when they think Elder athletics. The Panther volleyball program has reached the state finals in the past three seasons, winning the state championship in 2008 over GCL South rival St. Xavier.
St. X visited Elder High School last night, already having a 1-0 advantage on the Panthers this season. On Saturday afternoon in Columbus the Panthers and Bombers played for the St. Charles Tournament title, and St. X bested Elder two games to none.
While those games meant nothing toward the league title, it left a sour taste in the mouths of Elder players. The St. Charles Tournament is an annual tradition for Elder, dating back to at least my days in high school. Elder won the 2005 St. Charles Tournament, but lost in the finals of 2006 to GCL rival Moeller.
In 2006, I had my first opportunity to travel to Columbus with the Elder volleyball team for the St. Charles Tournament. As a junior and senior I got to follow the volleyball program as the team statistician. As the two years went by I became less of a bystander with my teammates and friends, and became more of an actual part of the team.
An important part of any team is having trust in one’s teammates and setting goals. On Friday evening at the team hotel every player and coach gathered in one room, sat down and discussed future plans.
Team captain Matt Siefke told the team, “We won this tournament last year and it got us rolling. Let’s do it again this year.”
Elder’s head coach, Sean Tierney, then went around to every person in the room and asked them to state their goals for the season. Last, but certainly not least, he turned and looked at me, saying, “Mr. Niemeyer. What do you want to improve on, get better at and accomplish this season?”
St. X visited Elder High School last night, already having a 1-0 advantage on the Panthers this season. On Saturday afternoon in Columbus the Panthers and Bombers played for the St. Charles Tournament title, and St. X bested Elder two games to none.
While those games meant nothing toward the league title, it left a sour taste in the mouths of Elder players. The St. Charles Tournament is an annual tradition for Elder, dating back to at least my days in high school. Elder won the 2005 St. Charles Tournament, but lost in the finals of 2006 to GCL rival Moeller.
In 2006, I had my first opportunity to travel to Columbus with the Elder volleyball team for the St. Charles Tournament. As a junior and senior I got to follow the volleyball program as the team statistician. As the two years went by I became less of a bystander with my teammates and friends, and became more of an actual part of the team.
An important part of any team is having trust in one’s teammates and setting goals. On Friday evening at the team hotel every player and coach gathered in one room, sat down and discussed future plans.
Team captain Matt Siefke told the team, “We won this tournament last year and it got us rolling. Let’s do it again this year.”
Elder’s head coach, Sean Tierney, then went around to every person in the room and asked them to state their goals for the season. Last, but certainly not least, he turned and looked at me, saying, “Mr. Niemeyer. What do you want to improve on, get better at and accomplish this season?”
Me (left) and Tierney (with the mask on) sit and joke with John Seaton (leaning over) during a game in 2007
I sat with a dumbfounded look on my face. ‘Why does it matter?’ I thought to myself. ‘I’m just the guy sitting at the end of the bench doing stats.’ Giving myself two seconds to think I stated, “Obviously I’d like to get everything right statistically, and work to make everything as accurate as possible.”
I’m sure something like that happened this season, and although the Panthers fell short in the St. Charles Tournament, they know that they can focus and take care of St. X when it matters. For a team looking to compete in its fourth straight state title match, Elder knows what they need to accomplish to get back.
Winning over St. X last night was just the start.
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