Annie Adamczak Glavan

My Drawing Of A Volleyball (I drew It)

My hero is my volleyball coach, Annie Glavan. You may think a coach is just someone who teaches you how to play something. Not this one. My coach is inspiring because she was a pro volleyball player and now she is a coach and helping girls who want to be just like her. I am one of those girls. She pushes us until we can't move a muscle. I think to myself, "In order to be a professional, I need to put as much commitment into volleyball as she does." She isn't JUST a wonderful coach, but she has a great sense of humor too! I love everything about her.

Annie when she was going to the University of Neb (www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10...)

Annie was born and grew up in Moose Lake, Minnesota. She went to Moose Lake High School as well. All the way up until 9th grade, girls couldn't do any sports at all. So she had to play with the boys. In high shool she played fastpitch softball, basketball, and volleyball. In volleyball she was a hitter, in basketball she was a forward and a guard and in softball she was a pitcher. After high school, she went to the University of Nebraska. She started out going there for Computer Science. Then she wanted to be a teacher, but at the last minute she decided she wanted to go into business and finally graduated with a Business Administration Degree. Annie played four years of volleyball, and one semester of basketball.

After college, Annie decided to go to West Berlin, Germany to play professional volleyball for six months. It was hard because all of her teammates spoke German or a different language. Sadly, the coach was from Hungaria and did not speak any English. "It was a cultural experience, I'll never forget", Annie says. Luckily, a couple girls on the team spoke English so they helped out. Then she came back to the U.S. to play professional volleyball for the team called the Minnesota Monarchs.

This is Coach Annie giving her team a pep talk, (I took it.)

Coach Annie is my hero because after she played professionally, she took all that she learned and decided to coach all the girls who play volleyball. What's better than a coach who has played professionally? Nothing. Annie doesn't give up on her players. She keeps giving and giving. She wants to see the very best from her players. When Annie was twenty-three, she came back from Germany and joined the Monarchs and they did summer camps and clinics. She would coach all over the Metro area of Minnesota. She would coach four year olds all the way up to sixty year olds! Imagine teaching four year olds! Now that would be hard. She thinks all coaches should be passionate about the game, and the only goal should be just teach the game. You also have to be honest with the players and parents. She says she started coaching because she has a passion for the game that she wants to pass on. The most challenging thing of being a coach, she says, is when she has to tell a player their skill isn't good enough.

The person that inspired Annie the most was Larry Bird. Larry Bird was a pro basketball player for the Boston Celtics. He was a role model for Annie. Annie has ALWAYS been into sports. She has always wanted to be a boy because those were the only people who could play sports when she was younger. The advice Annie gives to all those kids who want to be a professional is "NEVER GIVE UP!" I always play with that advice. I want to be a professional soo much and what's better than advice from a pro? Annie Adamczak is my hero because she is a strong woman who has always lived up to her dream. And if I live up to mine, then I will become just like her.