GRAND ISLAND — In the gym off North Road at Northwest High School, Diane Rouzee has built a program that takes a back seat to few in this volleyball crazed state.
She’ll begin her 32nd year here on September 4th when the Vikings travel to play in the Beatrice Invitational. Her girls, her 668 wins and the community that surrounds the program will embark on that journey as well.
It’s one that usually ends the second week of November at the Class B state tournament. The Vikings have been there 14 straight seasons, and were in the finals every year from 2007 to 2012.
Those accolades, those wins, are not what drives Rouzee though. For the coach, who now teaches with some of her former players and has some more on the sideline with her, volleyball is fun.
“I don’t want to coach this team too much,” Rouzee said Monday. “They are so smart and they do so many good things already, that you just want them to go out and have fun.
“I just want to get out of their way and clap when the parade goes by.”
She makes it fun because it should be. And, because the leaders on her team have been through more than should be asked of a normal 17 or 18-year old. It’s why Rouzee thought a Suvivor theme might hit home for her team when she was watching the hit CBS show earlier this summer.
“The theme of outwit, outplay, outlast really fits who we are,” Rouzee said. “Maybe we don’t always have the big Division I athletes, but we are going to try to play with everyone.”
“And, we have some kids who have been through a lot. The fact they have worked through it and are still playing. They survived.”
Allie Carlini had a birthday yesterday. She’d have celebrated with her family if they weren’t 1,000 miles away in Florida.
But, her volleyball family got some cookie and all is well.
Carlini, who started last year as a junior and was a letterwinner on the Vikings’ 2013 third-place team, has moved in with a local family after a move took her father, Ulysses, to Panama City Beach, Florida to manage NBC affiliate WJHG. He had served in the same role for KHAS in Hastings since the mid-90s before moving last fall.
“It has been a difficult transition, my parents and I are really close,” Allie said. “They would always come to all of my activities so it’s been tough for them not to be there.”
While dad went to Florida right before school started last year, her mom and younger sisters made the move after Christmas break.
She’s thankful for the addition of Striv at Northwest and other schools so her mom and dad, and younger sisters Gabbie and Gigi can watch from home. Big sister, Angelica, who starred for NW as well gets to as many games as she can since heading to school at Nebraska-Lincoln.
“With Striv they can watch all of my home games and watch the game when we play other schools who have Striv,” she said. “It’s nice that even though they are 1,000 miles away they are with me at my games. It’s like they are home with me.
“It’s great that my little sisters can watch the games with them and my sister in Lincoln can watch as well.”
Allie Carlini has survived. She wouldn’t trade her experience for anything.
“It’s been really great for our family,” she said “A blessing in disguise, I guess you could say. It has all worked out so well.”
*****
Kayla Bachle had one place to go on August 22, 2012. She was a freshman in Rouzee’s volleyball program and had never played a game. Her dad, Tim, finished his fight with brain cancer that day. He was 45.
“The day he passed away, I went to volleyball because I knew my teammates would be there and they would be behind me,” Kayla said. “Sports have always been an outlet that has helped me.”
He’s watched — from the best seat in the house — his daughter and her teammates travel to the state volleyball tournament on an annual basis. Last spring, Kayla set school records in both hurdle races for the Viking track team and was the Class B 100 meter hurdle champ.
But there is still more work to do. More memories to make with her teammates. More fun to have; more games to win. And dad is there.
Kayla Bachle has survived.
“When I am out there, I play for him,” she said. “I know he is right there with me. And, that’s a lot of motivation to play well, too. He was always there cheering for me. So, it’s no different now.”
*****
Rouzee drops her clipboard for this interview. Practice is still going, the balls are bouncing behind her and players are communicating – a must in volleyball.
She shakes her head at what Carlini and Bachle have gone through to lead her team. Add in that fellow senior Taylor Hovie is set to come back after missing 2014 with a torn ACL.
“We didn’t know if she’d ever play again,” Rouzee said. “She was with us at practice last year. She wanted to come back and play and she’s worked hard to do it.”
But, the coach is having fun, ready to talk about a team that brings back five starters and five more letterwinners from a 26-7 team.
“I am really happy with where we are at,” she said. “The improvement and progress of every single kid has been a really, really nice surprise.”
In addition to Carlini and Bachle, senior setter Bailey Parr returns as do juniors Kelsey Placke and Kylie Broich. Parr said team chemistry is high.
“The summer went pretty good,” said Parr, who had 306 assists and 269 digs as a junior. “This year we have a lot of chemistry. It’s really fun to play with my teammates. Practice doesn’t necessarily feel like practice this year.”
More fun, and the ability to represent a program that Rouzee mostly built from scratch when she arrived in the early 1980s – 668 wins ago.
“People don’t know (what it takes),” Rouzee said. “I have a very committed staff. They are all here working with the kids in the summer. We let kids start playing club volleyball when they are 10 and I love it.
“I still just really love it. And, I know I am old but it’s been my favorite game for a long time. I have had it all: a supportive mom, a supportive husband, daycare that was willing to watch my kids early and late. It’s been a big deal for our family.”
The result is kids who come back, who have learned lessons beyond being a great teammate, who have turned into wives and moms. And that know what it means to put on the uniform.
“The coaches have done a tremendous job building up this legacy and keeping it as strong as it has been for so long,” Bachle said. “I take it upon myself to put on that jersey and represent Northwest to the best of my ability every time I put it on.”
Added, Parr, the vocal setter. The coach on the court.
“It gives you a sense of pride. Even if you aren’t playing volleyball or the sport is in season, you have to hold yourself to a higher standard. You have to be a good person even when nobody’s looking.”
Those are lessons we could all use. About having fun and representing more than yourself. About being a survivor.
