Located in the northernmost part of Wisconsin (we're talking REALLY north), this one-team club was started by Linda and Brian Klobucher.
"Our daughter, Briana, discovered a passion for volleyball during her 8th-grade season in the Wisconsin Independent Volleyball League (WIVL)." Linda said. "Since WIVL tops out at the eighth-grade level, which our girls were at the time, we went looking for another league."
Their daughters passion led these parents to start the Chequamegon Lakers.
"With help and support from a friend and coworker, and encouragement from parents, we decided to join Badger Region. " Linda said. "We decided to keep ourselves in Wisconsin instead of joining a much closer Minnesota league."
The Klobucher's have enjoyed their first experience in the club volleyball world, specifically getting to know the players.
"Both Brian and I have found that getting to know the players has been great!" Linda said. "I double as coach and he helps me out. I feel like I have eight 14-year-old daughters! They are a great group of young ladies that work hard and are fun to be around."
Growing pains are inevitable on a new team, but hard work paid off over the course of the season.
"We've had our ups and downs as far as playing, but I think the highlight of the season was the Eau Claire tournament." Linda said. " We took first!"
While winning the Eau Claire tournament was a season highlight, it was one of many great memories the players made of the course of the season.
"We had the players and their parents over for a sledding/bonfire party that was a lot of fun." Linda said. "Towards the end of the night, we had to keep a close eye on them as they made a snow jump and were then seeing how many of their teammates they could fly over!"
The team also provided a great opportunity for the girls to meet and spend time with someone from a different culture.
"One of our families had a German foreign exchange student, Toni, join them in January." Linda said. "She came to most of our tournaments and was like our mascot. The girls thought of her as part of the team."
New opportunities come with inevitable speed bumps along the way, and it was no different for Linda and Brian as they started the Chequamegon Lakers. But they navigated each and every challenging situation with enthusiasm and creativity.
"What was harder than we expected about starting a club was making sure I had filled out all the necessary paperwork that’s required since I was so afraid I would miss something!" Linda said. "After several calls to Colleen and Jen it went pretty well. Everyone I had called was so helpful and accommodating."
Paperwork wasn't the only difficulty this new team faced.
"Another obstacle was trying to get gym time." Linda said. "After struggling with the school’s sports schedule and trying to sneak in practice at a reasonable time, my husband checked into a little country school that now serves as a community center...with the gym still intact! We approached the board and were given the thumbs up to hold our practices there. Brian and I would pick up the girls after school and get them to practice 12 miles out of town and our parents worked it out amongst themselves who would carpool and pick them up. It worked out better than anyone would have expected!"
As this new club prepares for the next season, they have some great memories to look back on and motivation to keep their volleyball adventure going.
"We’re looking forward to is the possible addition of another team." Linda said. "We have more parents who are interested in getting another Chequamegon Lakers team going for next season!"
Seems like practice is very hard. You will get it rewards for sure.
ReplyDelete