Mikayla Quinn got the opportunity to play against the Tapp twins. Twin sisters who, in high school played on the Stewartville volleyball team. Then went to the D1 level playing as Golden Gophers. Then to team the USA, and I just think it's crazy that she got to play against them. So my volleyball coach Mikayla Quinn has impacted me more than any other coach. She changed my future with volleyball, made me into a libero, and made me more confident in volleyball overall.

One of the biggest ways she impacted me was that she changed my whole future with volleyball. Before I was on her team I didn’t have a position. I had an idea of what I wanted to be, but I wasn’t given a chance to pursue it. She also gave me so many opportunities. Once I got a position she still let me practice the other ones, she always said that things could change in the future so I don't want to get stuck on the one position and not know how to do anything else. She also taught me other skills, like jump serving. The last way that she changed my future with volleyball was how she was involved in practices. She doesn’t just sit there like some coaches do and tell us to do something. She would get up and show us. She showed me what a good coach looks like and she set high standards. Along with setting high standards, she made me into the position I am today, a libero.

The next way she impacted me was she basically made me into a libero. I wasn’t a libero before I came onto her team. I knew that I wanted to be a one, but I wasn’t given the chance to try it yet. At the time, I was twelve so everyone just played all the way around. My first year on her team I thought that I was the only defensive player, but then I found out that a girl two years older than I wanted to be a libero as well. It was scary going up against someone that should technically be better than me because of her age.  So at our first tournament, the other libero and I switched off being libero for pool play. Then Mikayla made me her full-time libero. She too had been a libero in high school. She knows the most effective things to teach us and also knows what the coaches are looking for in a player. Not only did she make me into a libero, but she made me more confident in that position.

 Which makes my third topic about how she made me more confident overall. I was 12 or  13 playing on a 16 or 17 team. So I was playing with and against girls who were older than me. It was hard because I didn’t know anyone that well and I was more scared to make a mistake and have the team mad at me. She made us do team bonding and that brought our team together a lot and our team started to bond a lot better throughout the season. Mikayla was also super motivational. She doesn't get mad if we make mistakes. She knows how hard volleyball is and she also knows that some days just aren’t a good day and there’s nothing she could do about that. Mikayla also doesn’t sit me if I make mistakes because she knows that's the only way I will learn and get better. I definitely got lucky that I got to be on her team. She always built me up to be the best libero I could be.

Mikayla did so much for me. She made me more confident, changed my future with volleyball, and made me into a libero. She definitely impacted my life way more than any other coach I’ve had. The fact that she got to play against the Tapp twins is crazy. She learned so many things from that experience. Most people don’t get a chance to do that. This made her a better player getting to play against D1 level players and it also made her a better coach. She will now know helpful tips to give all the girls she coaches, especially the liberos being that was her position. With Mikayla’s tips and guidance, I hope to one day be a varsity libero just like she was