Latest / The UNWavering Podcast / A Purpose Beyond Winning | Beth Wilmeth – Head Volleyball Coach at Northwestern

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A Purpose Beyond Winning | Beth Wilmeth – Head Volleyball Coach at Northwestern · The UNWavering Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Our program's purpose is to make an eternal impact.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: You have to be committed to something bigger than yourselves.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_02: We talk about reflecting Christ and then just using the gifts that we've been given by God to really maximize our God-given talent.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: So if we do get to play on a national stage, like we're going to make sure that we use those opportunities to talk about our faith, to amplify the gospel, um, to use those to make make his name known, not Northwestern, not our own name.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Join as we highlight the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Unwavering Podcast.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, this is Monty and Cassie.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_03: And today on the Unwavering Podcast, we get to sit down with Beth Wilmouth, head coach of Northwestern's volleyball team.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: She's going to be giving us a preview of the season and give us a look at the heart of the volleyball program.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_03: Let's go.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_03: Beth, thank you so much for joining us on the Unwavering Podcast.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's great to be here.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for the invitation.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: You know, Cassie and I have this burning question for you just to know.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: Are you competitive at all?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think you do this job for over two decades and not be competitive.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, if you ask my family, we play a lot of games at home, a lot of card games, a lot of board games, and there's always a score.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I will always let everyone in the house know if I am the winner of the score throughout the rest of the day.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: So yes, fairly competitive.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: Did you let them win when they were little kids?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, my husband last there was a time where one of our little ones lost, and he was like, You never let me win.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I just said, I'm not that kind of mom.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_03: I don't let you have to earn it.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_03: Does it would it bug you if somebody like let you win?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: I want to earn it.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: I want to know that I, yeah, that I stood up to competition and did well.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: Bring it on.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_03: Um well, speaking of competition, let's take a quick season preview at what's coming up in the Northwestern volleyball season this year.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: We're really early on in the season, obviously, and it's it's been a fun year already so far.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, last year we graduated a large group of seniors, and anytime you do that, you kind of feel like you walk into the season a little bit like, who are we?
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: Because we've got a lot of new faces and new, a lot of new people on the court.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: But this group has been really special to work with, even throughout the offseason.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I would definitely describe them as hungry and humble.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: They're just there's a like a burning desire to do well and a lot of unselfishness and a lot of humility, which is special to get to coach.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: How many freshmen came in?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: We have five new players on the roster right now, which is really fun.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: All of them Minnesota girls.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, we've been able to get to know them even throughout last spring semester.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: They were on campus for different things.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so we kind of feel like we did the initial team bonding stuff way in advance of the season.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: So they've gotten plugged in pretty quickly and have adapted really well to Northwestern in our program.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_03: What does your like recruiting process look like?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: Like if it started already a year ago, like what how do you find players to join the volleyball team?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, as our program has gotten stronger and stronger, it's the recruiting process for us has changed.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it used to be that we're kind of looking at players a year out.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: So really the beginning of their senior year.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: This year, we already have our 2026 class wrapped up, pretty much all of our 2026s have committed already.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: So we're really looking at juniors and sophomores right now.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we get emails from people all across the country from people who are interested in our program, which is pretty special.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's a lot to sort through, a lot to try to find the right fits.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, it's special to get to have a so many people that are interested in our program, that want to be a part of it, and to kind of filter through and find the right fits for Northwestern is kind of our goal and where we're at right now with our juniors and sophomores.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: And what what is the right fit for your team?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, we're looking I was we're looking for people who are high character and are characters, along with being talented.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, the Northwestern's a special place where you're gonna be a believer to come in and you're looking for that place where you can grow in your faith.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're looking for players who want to do that and are open to doing that.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then obviously players who are talented.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_03: So the talent matters, but you're you're even first looking for character and then are they a character?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: When your players introduce themselves at the beginning of the game, you know, like there's just like clapping ritual and whatever, and then they all have like their introduction sign, like they're what what is that?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_03: Is that does every volleyball team do that?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Like no, I think that's unique to us.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that started from one of our alums, she was one of our team captains that year and was like, Can we do something different to start off our warmups in our game this this tonight?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: And we said sure.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: It she had everyone come up with a different sign and it just stuck.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: Instead of every girl waving when their name is introduced, they all kind of have their own little routine or rhythm.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes it's a gymnastics move or a wave or I don't know what.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: We see all sorts of things, but it's fun.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: So do you have your own special pre-game sign too?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: I usually try to blow a kiss to my family if they're in the state.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: If they're not there, I just wave.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_03: So looking at this season that you're currently starting, what are you most excited about for this particular season?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it it kind of goes back to just the newness of kind of almost a new era of Northwestern Volleyball.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: Having graduated such a big class, I feel like there's a lot of unknowns and a lot of new kind of building that happens.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, younger teams, so usually there's less expectations and there's just a real desire to grow and learn, and I'm excited about getting to work with this group.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_03: Well, that sounds fun.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_03: For you listening today to this podcast episode.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_03: If you have never been to a Northwestern volleyball game, this is the year.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_03: You should come out and join us.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_03: It is a blast watching volleyball.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_03: It is loud in there.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it is.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's a lot of fun.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_03: Fast-paced, furious.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and for the alums listening, uh, I do want to let you know there's an alumni takeover Northwestern volleyball game happening this fall, and we're gonna be doing that on Friday, September 26th at 7 p.m.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_03: So come on out, come watch some volleyball, and also come say hi to some fellow alums that will be.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, want to clarify the alums will not be playing the game.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're there to cheer on the team and bring the school spirit.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_03: Well, we haven't defined what alumni takeover means, right?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: You're right.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Anything could happen.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: But my hope for myself is that I will just be there to support.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, we love that.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's a big game for us, too.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: That's uh the team that we're playing that night was last year's co champ or runner-up for the conference championship.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: We won it, but they were the one that tested us the most, so that'll be a good rematch that night.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: So we need you, alums.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_03: Come on up.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_03: We will not put you on the court.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_03: I promise, Beth.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_03: We'll let your players do that.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: We'll throw some free shirts at you or something.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_03: We'll fill the seats.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but Beth, so why Northwestern?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_03: How'd you get here?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: What keeps you here?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_03: Why do you love being here?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm an alum of Northwestern.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't start out here.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, actually ended up on the phone with our athletic recruiter, George Palke, at the time, who's since retired.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: And at the time I was at a different Christian university, but just kind of felt like maybe it wasn't the right fit for me, not where I was supposed to be.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember I was on the phone with him for over an hour and a half, and that was the first time that I just got a sense of Northwestern's community and then how important faith was in terms of everything and that happens in the classroom or in the athletics facilities or the competitions.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so for me, that was really compelling reason to end up transferring here and finishing my degree here.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: And it's also really what's kept me here.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like the community and the ability to integrate faith into everything we do is really unique.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you're entering your 22nd season here, right?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_03: So it started way back coming in as a a student.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: And then you came on as coach and you've been here now twenty-two seasons.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: You're the longest tenured and most decorated coach.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_03: You've been the coach of the year multiple times.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: Uh over 500 wins in your career.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_03: That's a lot to count.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_03: Championships, national tournament appearances.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_03: What motivates you and drives you as a coach?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think what it really comes down to, I kind of have this two-word purpose for my life that I think carries into who I am as a mom or as a wife or as a coach into my profession, and it's cultivate growth.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I feel like that's something that's kind of wired in me.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: I growth is really important to me to be always growing in my faith, to be growing in my profession as well, for our program to be growing.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so even just looking at each season as a new season, a new opportunity to grow and seeing the incredible growth that happens from a freshman to a senior.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're really coming in very much just out of high school, trying to make sense of the world, trying to make their faith their own, and getting to watch over four years until they're ready to graduate, a lot of them getting married, moving on into their professions.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: That's really special to get to speak into that age group and that time in someone's life.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: And so for me, yeah, it just comes back to growing and being able to use sports because sports offers us a lot of tough moments, a lot of sweet victories, um, and a lot of opportunities to grow through those.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're able to really infuse um faith principles into sport, and you see a lot of growth that way, which is special.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_03: So, what have been maybe some of your favorite breakthrough moments that you've seen as you've been cultivating growth in players and in your program?
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: It there's so many.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we've had a couple of kids that have come through that really they have grown up in a Christian family, but I don't as as they've reflected coming in as a freshman, I think they would say I really wasn't a believer.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I knew how to get accepted to Northwestern and say the right things because I grew up enough in the Christian community.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: But when they've gotten here, really seeing them have to wrestle with what they believe about God, what they believe about um things that are hard that happen to them and why God allows them to do that.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: There's a couple of players that are just like flashing through my mind right now as I'm talking that really, really came in at a tough spot.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: But really just wrestling with them as they wrestled through that stuff and seeing them eventually really just trust and surrender their lives to the Lord in an in a deeper way than what they came in with, not just what their parents had brought them to church every Sunday with, but making it their own.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: Those those breakthroughs on an individual level are really special and really neat to get to be a part of.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_03: It all happens in the context of playing volleyball, being a part of a volleyball team.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: But how do you take their passion for volleyball and then turn it into growth for the rest of their life?
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: We start, we start big picture with our why, and we talk about what our program's purpose is.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of you know, university college volleyball programs, their purpose is to win, and we certainly enjoy winning, but for us, we our our program's purpose is to make an eternal impact.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: And to do that, you have to be committed to something bigger than yourself.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: So it's not your role, your playing time, your accolades, your stat line.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: It really is how can we use every moment that we're together, whether it's in the training room, whether it's on the bus or in a restaurant, working with a server that's you know serving our team, how can we use all those moments to somehow make an impact on somebody else's life that will carry on?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: We talk about reflecting Christ and then just using the gifts that we've been given by God to really maximize our God-given talent.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: So if we do get to play on a national stage, like we're gonna make sure that we use those opportunities to talk about our faith, to amplify the gospel, um, to use those to make make his name known, not Northwestern, not our own name.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and you've seen that play out through so many volleyball players as they've caught on to that vision and they are starting to apply that in all the areas of their life.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_03: I know I can speak as a a baseball player that we all loved baseball, Koachi would would say, the people you play against, they might you might be the only Bible they ever read.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_03: And we took that to heart and and took advantage of those opportunities to amplify the gospel.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: So how did you build this program?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_03: You just hinted at like winning matters, um, but then you went right after that and said, But what matters most is the eternal impact.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_03: Like, was that always your focus as a coach?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, this is this is quite the story.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: But um I so when I first started Northwestern, I was 22 years old.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's probably a longer story on how I got hired as a 22-year-old.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: And at the time I really felt like, oh, Northwestern does so many great things right in terms of the faith piece, but we just need to be more focused on winning.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't think the program was winning as much as it could.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was really orientated everything around that that first season.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: We were playing our first match against UW O'Claire, which, if you know anything about the Wisconsin schools, they're massive and incredibly talented.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: They're like 13 times the size of Northwestern.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so their coach has um been there for three decades.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: She's one of the winniest coaches in volleyball.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: Lisa Herb, and I know in walks to the gym, Beth Wilmouth never coached a game in her life.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: And we won that night.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: What?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, huge upset.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_02: And afterwards, we didn't have kids yet.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: So my husband and I went out and just had like some half price appetizers.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I was just like, babe, I beat Lisa Herb.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: Like I am one-on-one, I'm undefeated.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: I should be the one retiring because Lisa was gonna retire after that season.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I was just so excited.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of how like I thought the whole season was gonna go.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: And that following weekend, we're getting ready to play a team in Iowa.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'd scouted them.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: They kind of ran this basic offense.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember telling the girls in the locker room, trying to explain like how we're gonna compete against this offense that you see really at the middle school level, not even at the high school level.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I was walking out of the locker room and I turned back and I just said to the team, I said, Let's go show these guys how to play volleyball.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Ooh.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: So you know exactly how that match went.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: We lost to the team that ran a middle school offense.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: And the whole rest of the season kind of went like that ups and downs, like great wins, the lowest of lows.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we had Parents' Night in October, and um all my goal at that point was just to get everybody in, to keep everybody happy.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_02: So everybody on the roster got to play.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: After the match, I was sitting down, um kind of looking at the stat line, and I felt this presence in front of me.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I looked up and it was this older woman, this grandmother of one of the players on our team.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_02: I am slow to the punch, so I didn't know where she was headed with this, but you guys will know this right away.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: She asked if I had ever taken a coaching class before.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought, oh, this is where we share what we majored in in college.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was gonna explain to her that I was an English major or whatever, and I said, no.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: And she jumped in and said, I can tell.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, and oh, just dagged her to the heart, went up to my office, cried.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: A few weeks later, we lost in the conference championship match.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I thought I would have been disappointed because all I cared about was winning.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: But I was actually just so relieved that the season was over because I knew I had a lot of things to learn as a 22-year-old and figure it out.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: In the next five years, that's really what I dedicated myself to was reading everything I could, meeting with other coaches, going to clinics, studying what it meant to develop leaders and team chemistry and really what it looked like to infuse faith.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: And five years later, we're headed to the NCCAA national championships.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I had just had a newborn baby, Jariah, our oldest, was with us on the trip.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: We were flying to Colorado, which was really fun.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: And as we were getting ready to take off on the flight, I remember just thinking, like, I have got it going on.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: I finally arrived.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like that grandma now, I could actually answer her questions, say I have taken some classes.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: We're doing we broke the school record for wins that year.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: Just was so excited for the next couple days ahead.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: And we we had a great weekend um in Colorado.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: We competed really well.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: We didn't win it the big national championship, but I just remember on the flight home feeling the complete opposite that I had on the way out there, um, just kind of discouraged about like that was such a special season.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: And now what I just do that over and over again every year.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: That's all I'm here to do is just have these special memories for the team.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I really, over that off season, um the Lord actually really directed my paths to the right people and really um kind of honed in on I wanted our program to have something that carried from year to year to year and not just there to be these moments of big wins or special seasons.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's where we really sat down and nailed down what our core values are.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: We call them core covenants, but these five principles that would carry on into our players' lives throughout their um careers at Northwestern, but beyond really biblical principles that we could kind of flesh out in terms of volleyball, um, but then live out past Northwestern.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: So that's kind of how how it started and how it built.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_02: And really from there, I feel like all the success post that part has really been the Lord.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we've put in the work, but he's really positioned us well and we've been ready for those moments and hopefully use them as a platform to honor him.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it I think it really came back to that moment of being willing to make it more than just volleyball.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: And what a humbling journey to like walk through that and have that first year experience and then feel like you reset it and have another experience five years later.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I do find encouragement in what you shared in that first five years with your hunger to learn as a coach.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_03: And I think for anybody listening, like there's something there that we can all take away is that ability to become teachable and coachable ourselves, even if we're a coach.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but then to be reset and have your focus changed even further to really what matters and feeling that hollowness of just winning.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_03: So tell me about the covenants.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_03: So you you reset your approach as a coach and establish these core covenants.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: Like what are they and what does it look like to add them into your program?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we asked our team actually at the time, um, we kind of sat down and said, what do we want to be known for?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, whenever people see us play, or when we're in the classroom setting or even out in the community, like what do we want people to say, this is what Northwestern volleyball is all is all about?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: And those things should be able to be seen in any setting, but they should also be something you can carry on into your lives past, Northwestern.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so the team, the group of girls that were on the team that year, I really we we kind of brainstormed some words.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: I had my words, um, and then they came up with this acronym Trail, which at the time I was like, ah, come on.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's a little cheesy, um, an acronym, cutesy, but uh it's really it's really served us well.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: We talk about, you know, being on a trail is a journey.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: All our players come in at different places on the trail.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: We hope ultimately that we're a trail that points to Christ.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, each journey has its own trail.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: So we use that quite a bit.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: But the T stands for tenacity, and we talk about from Colossians 3.23 how we're called to work at everything we do with all of our hearts for the Lord's glory.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: And it's easy to work hard when things are going your way on the court, but really learning this principle, we're gonna work hard no matter what the score is.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and again, not for our own status, but for the Lord's glory.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: So we we talk about that.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: And a lot of coaches, a lot of programs are drawn to our program just because we work hard.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's kind of like the front door of our testimonies how hard we're willing to work.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: So that's the T, the tenacity.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: The R is release, and it stands for total release performance.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: It really is just playing free and with joy.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's releasing all the expectations, all the pressure, the s the score, whatever it looks like, whoever's in the stands, and just taking every thought captive.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: 2 Corinthians 10, 5, I believe, taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ, um, and just playing, playing with reckless abandon with freedom on the court.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: A is authenticity.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that one we talk about the different parts of the body.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's 1 Corinthians 12, how we all have these different parts of the body.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: We're all given these unique roles and these unique giftings, but it's for one purpose, and that's to encourage the entire body of Christ.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and the girls, we talk about authenticity a lot.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: We do accountability groups and Bible study is part of our program, and that's really where you start to see that that fleshed out, just that willingness to be transparent and vulnerable and where they're at in their faith and the things that they're struggling with and how they can really come alongside each other as the body of Christ because they're on a team that's so close-knit and encourage each other through those moments is is pretty cool to see.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a the eye is integrity.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, really, we talk about a character that stands intact in storm or crisis.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's first Chronicles 29:7.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: I know, my lord, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where our honor call system came from.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_02: Initially, it was kind of like, oh, integrity in the classroom, doing the right thing.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: And then one of our players at the time was like, what if we on the court, what if we made these honor calls?
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like if we touch the ball and the ref doesn't see it, what if we told the ref and then we gave the point back to the other team?
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, it was fresh off that flight, right, to Denver, where I really felt like I wanted to be something more.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: But then I was like, I don't know if I wanted to be this more.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we're talking about giving points to the other team.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I really had to wrestle with that um throughout the summer when the girls first talked about it.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: But we got back to preseason and it was a little divisive on our team, honestly.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: But we asked each one of our players to kind of keep praying about it and talking about it with people outside of our program and mentors, professors, whoever.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: And by the end of preseason, every single person on our team was convinced this was kind of the next thing that we were being asked to do in our program.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so we agreed to do it and the rest is history.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's been, it's had a big impact on my life, on the lives of the players on the program for sure.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so integrity and actually doing that on the court, not just in the classroom.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: And then love is our last one, selfless sacrifice and how John 13, 35 says that others will know that we're his disciples if we love one another.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that really is we talk about tenacity is the front door of our testimony, the T that's where people kind of are like, oh, they're they're a decent team.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_02: But when they see how we love each other and how we love them and others around us, hopefully that's what really has a staying power.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: That's the trail.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: I can see that in the the volleyball players that I've met on campus, just their character, um, and it's growing over the years in their program.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um they are they're cool, but they are they're humble and they're sweet and they love people.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really cool to see.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: You don't get that in every athlete, and but that volleyball team, they love people.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_03: So as you think back through your years of coaching, what would you say is an all-time favorite moment?
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: The first one that comes to mind is actually 10 years ago.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: It was the first time we really made it through, kind of broke through in the NCAA tournament, and we made it to the Sweet 16 that year for the first time ever.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: And that group of players, like some incredible leaders on that team, that was the first group that was like, Hey, when we get to the NCAA playoffs, can we just pray around the court?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, just so That we can remember that this isn't about us, this isn't about the win or the team that we're playing.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so we started doing it that season, um, first season that we ever did it.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: That year we were the number eight seed and we were playing the number one seed at their home court.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: And it was a long day.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_02: We were the last match of the night started at 9:45 that night.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: And we was supposed to be a quick match.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: We were just supposed to get smoked and head home.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_02: And we we ended up going back and forth with this team, just battled back and forth, back and forth.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: And what was crazy about that night is we had we had a record honor calls in that match.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: I've never been a part of a match where we had more of that.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_02: Usually we'll have one or two, but we were like up at 14, 15, 16 honor calls.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: So many points that were going the other way.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: And yet we were still hanging with with this team.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember we called a timeout at one point in the fifth set, tiebreaker set, and the girls were just almost laughing, like, what is going on?
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it was pretty clear that we're there for more than volleyball.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and there's some cool stories that came out of that match, but we just kept saying, just keep doing the right thing and playing hard.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and I remember saying, I have no idea what's going on, but it's pretty clear that we're gonna make a lot of honor calls tonight.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: So keep making them.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I I just felt after that time, it was almost like there's this like censor, this voice that was like, just sit and watch what I'm gonna do.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I I almost just didn't coach the rest of that set and that set and just kind of watched.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_02: We ended up winning in five, 16 to 14.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: The girls storm the court, uh, first time we ever made it, like I said, to the sweet 16, but it was how we did it.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it was the praying over the court ahead of time, just feeling like the Lord was calling us to something special that night and something different that we didn't know what we were getting into.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then some of the stories of the people that were in the stands, that match that watched us play, we had a player that was there, a young high schooler that was watching and she was actually there cheering for the other team.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: And she really wanted to play for them because they're, you know, pretty big program.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: And afterwards, her mom emailed and said, You have no idea what an impact you guys made on this sophomore girl, this high schooler.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: She was she's been all about playing for the right coaches, the right clubs, getting recruited by these big programs, um, Christian kid, you know, growing up in a Christian family, but just was really blown away that you could actually do both things.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: You could be really good at volleyball and actually live out your faith on the court.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: That girl ended up coming to Northwestern, played in our program for four years, met her husband here, has since graduated.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so just though that moment, just a breakthrough in terms of advancing in the Nstable A tournament.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then just the special the way the Lord worked in that match and it impacted a specific sophomore in high school girl's life.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: That was that was a pretty special night.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: Man, what a ripple effect, right?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_03: And what a moment for the program.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_03: And I think what gets me most about the volleyball program at Northwestern, I think this is it.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_03: Your intentionality is incredible and it's not cheesy.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: Like some of these things, I think about them just that if you just read them on a piece of paper, like Northwestern's gonna call honors calls and just say, nope, it wasn't the right call.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_03: That can seem like a almost like a Jesus answer in Sunday school can seem cheesy.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_03: But your intentionality is grounded in a bigger purpose that you're unpacking all season long to try to cultivate women of God who are growing through this experience in volleyball.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just something that's done for show.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like it is a part of the heart of this program and of these girls, and that's I think why the Lord has just shown up in it and been like, yeah, I'm gonna work through this team and impact lives.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_03: So I want to close with this question.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_03: And I think it connects maybe with some of that commitment.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_03: But what does it mean to you to be unwavering?
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the first thing that comes to mind is Romans 12, 2 about how we're not to conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and in sports culture, like it's if you watch any professional sports or any college sports, even right now with NIL and the transfer portal, it's all about me.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_02: It's all about the success, the trophy, the accolades.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's a it's a very selfish culture that glorifies the individual and then that glorifies winning.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so when I look at being unwavering in terms of the Northwestern volleyball program, in terms of my own life, it is going back to um what I want to be about, and that is about amplifying the gospel, about furthering God's kingdom, and the other stuff will take care of itself.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's fun, it's g it's fun to get to be a part of those special memories, but really going back to our commitment not to sell out to the world and what the world says is success, um, but to really be sold out to Christ, to making him known and to making him um above all before us, not Northwestern, not Northwestern volleyball, uh, but but Christ.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you for sharing that, and thank you for everything that you shared in this episode.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_03: I know I feel encouraged, and hopefully for you listening, that you have you have a lot of takeaways from this episode, and I'll just review it one more time.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_03: But trail, tenacity, release, authenticity, integrity, and love.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_03: How can we apply that in our life today, no matter where we are?
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_03: And then to live out the calling in an unwavering way.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: So, Beth, thank you so much for joining us on today's podcast.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_03: We're excited to go watch some Northwestern volleyball.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_02: So excited.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, thank you guys.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Holding on to your promises, holding on to your favorites.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: To hear more, subscribe and leave a rating wherever you listen.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know an alum, faculty member, staff, or student of Northwestern doing amazing things out in the world, let us know at alumni at unwsp.edu.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: The unwavering podcast, highlighting the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: Your love is on the US.