When last year?s varsity coach Larry Orender left to pursue a teaching credential, the junior varsity volleyball team needed a new guru to lead them. But have no fear; the search is over.
Peoples Church employee Jessica Schlink replaces Tiffany Kaiser as the JV coach under volleyball head coach and girls? physical education teacher, Shailey Jones.
Schlink graduated from Lassen College in 2003, where she played volleyball, as well as at Sparks High in Nevada.
?I live volleyball. I play volleyball, I coach volleyball, I?m always talking about volleyball?? Schlink said. ?Life is volleyball.?
Before accepting the job on campus, Schlink originally planned to coach in Sanger.
?The drive was too long to make every day,? Schlink said. ?It was more convenient to coach on the same campus that I worked on.?
After coaching the junior high team last year, Schlink put her name in the drawing if the position opened for a high school position.
?I prefer a higher level to coach,? Schlink said. ?I enjoy working with older girls as opposed to younger girls.?
Even though the season has just begun, the team agrees on acceptance.
?I like her coaching style,? Heather Lichti, ?10, said. ?She teaches us things that will improve our volleyball skills and she works us hard.?
The coaching style of Schlink works around one of her favorite parts of the game: conditioning.
?I run the conditioning drills with the girls because it was a philosophy of one of my coaches,? Schlink said. ?He said he would never make us do anything he wouldn?t do, and to prove that, I run with the girls.?
Lichti?s eyes start to glisten as she thinks back to practices that pushed her to her limits.
?Her conditioning is challenging,? Lichti said, ?but it will help to keep us in shape, and when we get tired, [coach] pushes us to keep going.?
Schlink has coached everything from seventh graders to an 18-year-old club team. She also previously coordinated volleyball camps at Peoples Church. She has participated in a doubles grass league and plans to engage in an indoor Tuesday and Sunday night league. While on the team, Schlink plays a variety of positions including her favorite.
?I love all volleyball positions,? Schlink said, ?but if I had to choose one, it would be setting. I love being the ?boss of the court,? and I get to touch every ball, be in every play.?
Taylor Schafer, ?11, who played for Schlink last year on the school team, comments on Schlink?s drills that involves touching every ball and participating in every play.
?The drills aren?t that tough,? Schafer said, ?but they still benefit us and teach us to be better players.?
One of Schlink?s goals for the year is to ?instill a love of the game in the girls.?
?I want to teach them the fundamentals,? Schlink said, ?have fun, and glorify God through it.?
