Coaching volleyball has always been on Paige Rohrer’s agenda, but never at Gibson Southern High School … until this year. Rohrer moved to Gibson Southern this year as a math teacher and also gained the role of junior varsity volleyball coach.
“I decided to coach volleyball because I have been coaching volleyball the entire time that I have been teaching,” Rohrer said. “Coaching volleyball is a way for me to get to know my students outside of the classroom. So, instead of just sharing my love of math with them, I also get to share my love of volleyball and sports as well.”
Rohrer taught at North Posey for four years, and before that, she taught at Washington High School. Rohrer has two children, and her husband, Mark Rohrer, works as a guidance counselor and coaches varsity boys basketball at Gibson Southern.
“It is a little crazy [coaching] especially since my kids do multiple sports as well,” Rohrer said. “However, it is a lot of fun for them to get to come and cheer at the games, and all the volleyball girls are great about including them; so, they love to be a part of it.”
The players have loved having a fresh start to the team, according to sophomore Mia Sefton.
“From the first practice, we could all tell coach Rohrer was an experienced coach and very knowledgeable,” Sefton said. “She is a great leader.”
The JV team has done really well so far, according to Rohrer. She has been a positive influence on the team all season. As a coach, she is encouraging while still identifying players’ weaknesses and fixing them.
“She is always very positive during timeouts and helps us identify any issues and how to fix them,” Sefton said.
With all the success of coaching a new team, there are also challenges. Navigating how the team plays together can take some time and adjustment, but when it all comes together, it is very rewarding.
“The toughest part about coaching is trying to figure out what’s best for the team as a whole, to put all of the missing pieces together to be successful,” Rohrer said.
She had success as a coach of her previous teams, her highlights being the postseason runs her teams would make. She hopes to experience that with Gibson Southern as well.
“My favorite coaching memory so far is going to Semi-State,” Rohrer said. “We were very close to going to State that year. It would have been a lot of fun to do that, but making big tournament runs is always a great time with the team; it’s fantastic team bonding in just a really cool experience to get to be a part of.”
Freshman Katelyn Hall has seen how good Rohrer has handled the responsibility of stepping in and coaching the team.
“She has stepped into the program with a big responsibility and worked through some unexpected challenges while helping guide our teams to success!” Hall said.
