Following a tough stretch of nine games to open up their season, the Pella Christian Eagles volleyball team and even their coaching staff had to take a look at themselves and their team to determine what they had to do to be a successful squad for the 2012 season. After starting 1 – 8, head coach, Cindy Nikkel decided to give the nod to some of her younger players to take the place of some senior starters, which, in turn, made the team more consistent, as the Eagles rattled off eight wins against their next ten opponents. Coach Nikkel said it’s a lesson that the seniors can look back on later in life.
“Some people’s philosophy is seniors play, because they put the time in,” Nikkel said. “The players had to realize that’s not my philosophy, and we had talked about that before. The reality of it setting in, is you don’t always get what you want in situations, but in life, you still have to choose joy, and you have choose into the team ideas and what the team needed.”
Nikkel also reflected on how much character her seniors had to be able to give up their starting positions for the “greater good.” The Eagles finished with a record of 16 – 18.