As high school sports begin, it's likely that at some point this season, parents, coaches, administrators and the athletes themselves will engage in a process of reflection. Certainly, the questions above may be part of what one thinks when evaluating the season.
Match photos click here.
What is success?
Do sports build character?
Is winning all that matters?
As high school sports begin, it’s likely that at some point this season, parents, coaches, administrators and the athletes themselves will engage in a process of reflection. Certainly, the questions above may be part of what one thinks when evaluating the season.
The philosophical beliefs and leadership of one’s head coach often highly influence how an athlete thinks about their experience in a sport.
Clearly, Cardinal Huskies Head Coach Michael Chaffee has thought insightfully about what he wants his athletes to learn while competing in the sport of volleyball.
Now in second year at the helm of Huskies Volleyball, and 35th year as a head high school volleyball coach, Chaffee has won a lot of games. Indeed, as the head coach of the Windham Bombers, Chaffee won 492 games, 10 OHSAA district championships, and took his team to three OHSAA regional finals.
But even with so much on-court success, Chaffee emphasizes and promotes five core values upon which he has built the Huskies volleyball program.
After the Huskies defeated the Mathews Mustangs in three straight sets Aug. 26, Coach Chaffee discussed them.
“We have five core values that we talk about every single day,” he said. “One is that our goal every day is to get a little bit better. Our second goal is to have fun at what we’re doing. The third one is that we want to be great teammates.
“The fourth one is that we don’t want to worry about mistakes, because we have the only sport where if you make a mistake, the other team automatically gets a point — and there’s going to be tons of them. We have to not worry about those; we have to learn from them and move on.
“The fifth one is we have to celebrate.”
Chaffee said he was pleased with his team’s performance against the Mathew Mustangs, and admired how the team tried to play to the best of its ability.
In addition, the fifth core value, of celebration, was integral in the match with Mathews, as the team celebrated senior captain Ali Puruczky’s 1,000th career kill and sung with joy after winning the match.
With a focus on improving every day, having fun, being great teammates, learning from mistakes, and celebrating their successes, Coach Chaffee has the Huskies off to a great 5-0 start.
Cardinal defeated the LaBrae Vikings, 3-2, on Aug. 19 to start the season, and have not lost a set in their last four victories over the Pymatuning Valley Lakers, Garfield G-Men, Mathews Mustangs and Grand Valley Mustangs.
Leading the Huskies to this excellent start have been captains Ali Puruczky, a senior, and Natalie Soltis, a junior. Against the Mathew Mustangs, Puruczky (14 kills) and Soltis (6 kills) combined for 20 kills to help lead the Huskies to victory.
In her last three games, Puruczky averaged 6.1 kills per set (55 kills), and she most recently had 21 kills against the Grand Valley Mustangs.
Puruczky reflected on some of the core values demonstrated against the Mathews Mustangs.
“It was a big match for us because we really wanted to make sure we had our side of the court in check with playing our game and to our potential,” Puruczky said. “It was a big match for everyone, we had a big celebration today, and everyone pulled their part together.”
Her team communicated effectively and focused on having good touches and concentrating on making quality passes, she said.
And although Puruczky had a great game and recorded her 1,000th career kill, she said she wouldn’t have had the same success without the excellent play of her teammates.
“None of my game would have been able to happen without my team,” Puruczky said. “So I have to give it all to my team. We couldn’t have hits if we didn’t have a pass and a set. Honestly, I have to thank my entire team for that.”
Soltis also had excellent performances on the attack at the net this season. In addition to six kills against the Mathews Mustangs, she had 22 kills against the G-Men on Aug. 23, and most recently had 15 kills in the Huskies victory over the Grand Valley Mustangs.
Coach Chaffee said Puruczky and Soltis have played great all season.
“They have been outstanding since the start of the season,” Coach Chaffee said. “They’re hitting the ball with purpose, they’re confident, and they want the ball.
“Over time they’ve worked very hard to become very good at this sport.”
Also helping lead the Huskies are junior setter Olivia Krebs (53 assists over last three games; 9 aces) and freshman setter Lucy Klepper (44). Junior Adelyn Grant leads the Huskies with 67 digs in the last three matches.
With strong core values guiding them, look for Huskies Volleyball to make a strong post-season run — but regardless, it is certain the team will be having fun and celebrating its journey toward success.
