When it comes to being a better athlete on the court and pushing yourself to make you achieve your goals Kari Sadler’s coaching abilities are unmatched. She pushes her athletes to give it all on the court and to always work as a team. Mrs. Sadler really helped me improve emotionally by being very direct and always being honest even if her athletes didn’t want to hear the truth.

When I first started playing high school volleyball, Coach Sadler intimidated me. Former Athletes talked about how frightening and brutally honest she was and I even questioned playing volleyball. Coach Sadler began to notice how reserved and quiet I was once the season got going. She then began to spend a little more time encouraging me and telling me jokes to demonstrate that she is attempting to help me step outside of my comfort zone. Mrs. Sadler has really helped improve my confidence with volleyball and I appreciate her so much for that. She has so much love and compassion for not only winning games but for her athletes’ improvement as players as well. A coach is not just a person who coaches you or makes you improve at your sport. A coach is a person who can change your life for the better and become a second parent to you. 

It takes a lot of dedication to devote five days a week to coaching and teaching, and on top of that coaches maintain separate lives from their athletes. They still need to provide for and take care of their family, which overall comes before a coaching job. Kadence Sadler said, “My mom put in a lot of time into the volleyball program. For example, during the summer she attended volleyball camps to find new drills for practice, she would sit on our couch at night and search for volleyball drills on YouTube, and after home and away games she would stay at school for 30 minutes to upload game film to hudl because she knew that all of her athletes would be waiting to watch film at night. On top of that she would get home at 9:00-10:00 pm and update stats on maxpreps at our kitchen table. My mom thought about volleyball and her athletes all the time.”     

Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to work with an incredible coach who has given me both physical and mental support. Not only does she promote self-observation, performance evaluation, and open monitoring of one’s physical and emotional well being but she also shows her love for your wellness both on and off the court. 

This teacher at Potosi High School is the reason I will continue to pursue my dreams with volleyball and to follow in her footsteps by coaching my own team as well. I thank her for the person I have become on and off of the court.