Sports are a huge part of my life, but more specifically, volleyball is my life. I have grown up with it and I have learned to love it more and more. Being an athlete has even come to define part of who I am. How did I get to this point? Easy. I was born a coach's daughter.

My dad has been a collegiate volleyball coach and my mom has coached volleyball at the club and high school level since the day I was born. At one point in time, my parents even coached together. Today, my dad continues his career coaching at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and my mom directs the York YMCA Volleyball Club while coaching high school and junior high in the Susquehannock school district. To me, my parents' coaching careers are careers to admire. Most importantly, they are careers that shaped me in to the adult I am today.

By having two coaches as parents, I can safely say that I was raised in a somewhat unconventional way. My weekends were filled with tournaments, my nights were spent at home matches, and my summers were spent at preseason training. However, I would not trade any of those days in the gymnasium for anything. My favorite days as a kid were spent in a gym playing volleyball and watching my parents coach.

Now, even though I had some adventurous times that ended once I left the gym, for my parents, the coaching never stopped. The lessons they taught and the values they instilled into their players carried over into their parenting. As a result, I have been exposed to parenting methods that other kids would never know.

My dad was always, and still is, the person who has always brought his coaching home with him. His life lessons would always start with "I tell my players this at every practice..." and he would finish with "...and that is something you are going to have to do no matter where you are." His core values of discipline, commitment, hard work, and the ability to get after any given situation was brought to me with the heart of a parent and the mind of a coach.

First and foremost, is discipline. I have been taught that you must discipline yourself to do all of the little components in the process in order to achieve maximum results. You cannot achieve your goals or better yourself without doing every minute detail. You will never learn to serve in volleyball, if you fail to discipline yourself in learning how to properly toss the ball. You will never pass a test, if you fail to take notes and pay attention in class.

Proceeding onward is commitment. I know I must put all of myself into fulfilling my goals and in order to better myself. There really is no time for a day off because everyday you take off is one day more that someone else in the world is using to get ahead.

And with commitment comes hard work. The two go hand-in-hand, it is crucial for you to work hard and stay committed to effectively reach your goals.

My up-most favorite lesson that my dad constantly tells me is to never yield to a situation and to always get after it. Everyday, you are presented with new opportunities, but we shy away because we are afraid that we cannot do it and will fail. My dad has always encouraged me to get after what I want because every failure is just encouragement to try again and find the next opportunity.

These are just a few of the endless lessons I have been taught throughout my life. My parents strive to teach me these core values endlessly, and now they have been ingrained into my set of habits.

Volleyball is more than a sport to me because it has defined my behaviors, thought process, and attitudes. I am proud to be the coach's daughter. If my parents were not coaches, I do not think I would have such a successful life. They have given me the tools I need to excel. With those tools, I have built a strong foundation that allows me to accomplish my goals, and my tool box only keeps growing.