7 minute read
Setting Players Up for Success
By Jake TenPas
MAC Volleyball Helps Young Women — and Coaches — Find Their ‘Why?’
“You have to find your purpose,” says MAC Volleyball interim head coach Dani Kellis. “I think it’s a very real conversation to have with young woman in sports. Why are you playing? And there’s no wrong answer.
“Are you playing for your parents? Do you want to continue playing in college? Do you like the fun of it, having friends? Do you like the competition? Find your why, and that makes your practices, the late nights, the long weekends, it makes them all much more worthwhile.”
For 15-year-old team libero Jordan Goettler, her why contains multitudes. “I actually really enjoy practicing it,” she says, explaining that her previous time spent playing other sports didn’t yield nearly the same delight. “Sometimes when we’re playing, I get a block, or a good dig or up, and it just feels really good. Also, I like peppering with my dad.”
Her teammate, Aila Walker (16), says it’s all about the competitive nature of the game for her, although that often translates to its mental aspects. “I’m a setter, and that’s a lot more of the technical stuff — the mind and strategy aspects — and I really like the technical side, or the technique, of it.”
Both say that their parents have been incredibly supportive of them participating in athletics over the years, and that volleyball is the sport they chose. They also agree that Kellis is a compelling coach, and one who strikes the right balance to keep them engaged, improving, and entertained.
“Dani is an absolutely amazing coach,” Walker opines.
Goettler jumps in: “She’s the nicest person ever, but she’s not too nice. She’ll still push you to do your best. She’s not aggressive, but she’ll be strict if we’re not doing well or we keep making the same mistakes over and over. She’ll be like, ‘You guys need to lock in.’”
“She’s always pushing the team to reach new heights,” Walker picks up again. “She does it through constructive feedback and criticism, and it’s a hard balance between being the nice coach who doesn’t teach you much and that hard coach who everyone just hates, but she found it perfectly.”
That’s because Kellis continues to find her own why, and to hear her tell it, it’s both professional and personal. Previously working as a nurse, she made the transition to coaching volleyball after a lifetime of loving the game.
“Finding your why can take forever in life. My husband asked me if I wanted to be a nurse, and it was because I really like working with people and helping them, but I just couldn’t keep doing that. I didn’t have a passion for it.” When his follow-up question was, “What
gets you excited?” Kellis’ response was, “Volleyball. It’s always been volleyball.
“I really love and look forward to every single day. Life’s too short to do something that you don’t truly enjoy.”
After coaching at a Waldorf School and then turning 180 degrees to working for one of the biggest volleyball clubs in the area, Kellis found her sweet spot at MAC. “I wanted to have a connection with other coaches and with the athletes year after year. I wanted to be part of a program that was kind of building and not one of those clubs that were already built,” she explains.
That’s where MAC’s former head coach, Taylor Canoso, comes into the equation. Arriving on the scene in 2021, she began rebuilding the volleyball program, quickly earning the respect of her players and fellow coaches. When it was announced that Canoso would leave her position at MAC to focus on being a mom, Kellis felt honored to step into her shoes, at least temporarily.
“I want to do right by her because she’s done such a good job. I know that I can see her vision, and I aim to do just what she wanted with this program,” Kellis says, adding that she also hopes to provide continuity for the players and MAC community that supports them. Running through everything she says is an undercurrent of understanding the legacy inherent in shaping and inspiring young people. It’s taking the reins from the those who’ve coached before, and eventually passing them off to the individual athlete and their coaches yet to come.
“I’m currently reading a book called Every Moment Matters, and it’s so true. Whether it’s on the sidelines, on the bench, before or after practice, just little comments and conversations — they’re going to remember everything that you say to them.”
That’s why Kellis hopes to continue to instill a sense of confidence and drive in all her athletes while also creating a safe space for them to be young people who are changing in front of her eyes. Citing advice from an inspiring coach of her own, Kellis says, “Mistakes don’t equal failure. They are just feedback, and you can use that feedback to learn, try something different, and get out of your comfort zone. That’s where the true growth really happens.”
Goettler and Walker are prime examples of both the success athletes can achieve on the court through supportive leadership and the life lessons that can be learned in the process.
“Working with a team is something that everybody has to do at some point, and it’s a really valuable skill, one of the many things volleyball has taught me,” Walker says. “It also provides a good balance because I have a lot of academic interests. I like science, but doing volleyball makes it so it’s not my entire life. I get to have a release, I get to forget about all of that and just focus on the game. Even if it’s stressful or it’s a ton of adrenaline, it’s still a lot of fun.”
Goettler says she’s looking at schools where she can pursue a career in the medical field but also continue to play volleyball. “I wasn’t necessarily thinking about playing in college before, but now I think maybe it could light that passion which will get me into college and helping me be successful in a nursing program.”
“Growing up, I had a lot of really inspiring people in my volleyball career, but also some not so inspiring who kind of crushed my passion a little bit,” Kellis says, reflecting on the impact her coaching and sport might have on the next generation. “When I decided to become a coach, I made it my mission to not be one of those who crush a passion, but one who inspires it. There’s a lot of room to take that wherever you want to go. If I do my job right, it gives players some autonomy, selfadvocacy, and tools so they can start to teach themselves and take those skills with them for life.”
Supporting Juniors
These days, there are some startling statistics surrounding national youth sports. A staggering 50% of kids drop out of youth sports by age 11 and 70% drop out by age 13. For many parents and kids there’s a hypersensitivity to W’s and L’s coupled with an equally intense obsession with X’s and O’s.
It’s certainly one way to approach sports. And I’m immensely proud to say it’s a far cry from the approach our dedicated coaching staff takes here at MAC.
At MAC, our coaching staff across all nine of our junior competitive programs believes sports is so much more than what’s reflected on those fickle scoreboards. It’s about fostering growth, building community, and inspiring athletes.
This month, our feature story highlights this very approach. We share the journey of Interim Head Coach Dani Kellis and the incredible impact she has had on two young athletes both on and off the court. It’s just a singular peek into how our staff strives every day to foster environments where kids want to stick with sports for all the right reasons.
