From Psychology to Volleyball...The Path to Victory

   Rachel Eikenberry is a School Psychologist for Green Hills, as well as Tri-Center's Head Volleyball Coach. This dual role started over 20 years ago, with the help of one colleague. Rachel tells us, "I was serving Thomas Jefferson High School while working out of the Peterson Office. I interacted with Mike Bond who was a Special Education Lead Teacher and head volleyball coach at TJ. He knew that I had played college volleyball and always liked to pick my brain about volleyball drills and philosophies. He asked me if I'd like to be an assistant volleyball coach for him at TJ. I wasn't sure if it was possible, but my AEA administrator, Cal Sinn, loved the idea of me trying out both roles." After her first season, Rachel and her husband were expecting their first child, so she stepped away from coaching to focus on parenting. 

   Fast forward 20 years, that baby now attends Cornell College, where she has started on the volleyball team as a freshman, and was even named the defensive player of the week once this season. Mike Bond is currently the head coach at Lewis Central and has taken his team to state for the last 3 years. Coach Bond and Rachel remain close friends and talk volleyball regularly. In fact, they each attended 2 of each others matches this year to help one another improve. Rachel calls it, "Life long learning and collaboration at it's best!" Rachel's son, Paul, a junior at Tri-Center, keeps stats at all of her games. His game-time stats help her to make quick decisions and adjustments. Mike is a mentor to Paul and the two of them love to talk volleyball throughout the season. Paul hopes to attend a Division 1 university to study business and serve as a manager to a volleyball team.

  This year, Rachel was asked to draft and coach a Senior All-star team for KMA's first Senior All-Star Classic.  She said, "When I was told I could bring a friend along to help, my first call was to my trusted friend and colleague Mike Bond." Rachel, Mike and Paul  helped guide their Senior All-Star team to the Championship on November 26 in Glenwood. "It's not what you know, it's who you know and I'm grateful to the AEA's role in meeting a special education teacher 20 years ago who shared the same love of volleyball that I did," Rachel shares. For the full KMA story click here