Meghan’s Journey: The Story of Meghan Redenbach: The Teenage Girl Who Showed a Community How to “Man Up” in the Face of Cancer (19 page)

Part Six: Volleyball

Written by Bill Holahan, Meghan’s Varsity Volleyball Coach at Royalton-Hartland High School and her eighth grade social studies teacher at Royalton-Hartland Middle School

I
first met Meghan when she was in seventh grade and assigned to a study hall that was held in my room at the end of each day. She immediately caught my eye as a result of her energy level, precocious personality, and obvious zest for life. She seemed most comfortable flirting with the boys, although it was apparent that she got along with everyone.

During the winter I happened to be photographing the modified girls’ basketball team, of which Meg was a member. As a coach I made note of her leadership skills, as well as her determination to run the point guard position while backing down from
no
one
. Meg was at her best chasing down loose balls, often diving on the floor, and I might have even seen an elbow or two thrown if that would improve her chances of recovering the ball. I remember consciously thinking I need this girl in the volleyball program.

In the spring she indicated she was thinking about trying out for volleyball in the fall. She didn’t seem real pumped about it, and even my excitement was tempered by the fact that she was wearing a brace on her wrist and wouldn’t be available much to practice during the summer. Part of me thought she would never show up for practice, and maybe she was wearing the brace for sympathy or attention. Boy, does that seem so ironic now knowing what she would face head on within the next few months.

Meghan began her volleyball career in the fall of her eighth grade school year. She played for the junior varsity team, which was dominated that year by tenth graders. Even though her skills were rough and unpolished from lack of practice time, she almost immediately stood out directing traffic as the setter on her team. With her strong voice and willingness to be the leader of her team, she caused quite the uproar. Tenth graders weren’t used to a young kid clearly in charge and willing to call up her teammates if they gave less effort than Meg thought was necessary. Coach Doug Meyer and I had to deal with some bruised egos, and Meg bore the brunt of the resentment. Mike and Nancy were present at all the summer practices and witnessed Meg asserting herself as the quarterback of the team. They must have had some interesting discussions with Meg helping her get through what, at the time, were some tense moments being the new star player on the team.

Towards the end of each season I usually like to bring a player or two up to the varsity for the sectional playoffs. Meg was the obvious choice, based on her play the previous few weeks with the JVs. We had one big obstacle to clear in order for her to be eligible to play on the varsity team—she had to run the mile and half in fifteen minutes to be cleared to play for us. I will never forget the walk over to the track talking to Meg about a variety of things. She told me she hardly slept the night before thinking about the prospects of playing for the varsity team. She was walking on cloud nine thinking of the possibilities, and yet fearful of not making the required time. What I witnessed that day was nothing short of spectacular. Although Meg was a pretty good athlete, she certainly had not trained for this feat of endurance. She began running at a pretty good clip, way ahead of the pace she would need to maintain in order to qualify for the varsity team. I even told her several times to slow down and cruise to the finish. In typical Meg fashion, she gave me
the look
, meaning “Coach, I want to show you how much I want to play for the varsity.” And she did it in resounding form, beating the qualifying time by more than three minutes. She couldn’t wait to go to VARSITY practice. Her love affair with volleyball had begun! It was one of the proudest moments I have ever had as a coach. It was a topic of conversation at our dinner table that night, and it is something I will never forget.

Meg made a couple appearances for the varsity in the playoffs. She was nervous but so excited! My daughter and assistant coach, Erin, and I looked at each other knowing this was the beginning of something special. Little did we know what the future would bring for our beloved warrior.

In December Meg tried out for a club team at the Niagara Frontier Volleyball complex. I remember her telling me about her first try-out practice. She was not pleased with her play and wanted me to know that she would be giving her all for her next practice so she could make one of the travel teams. I told Meg just to relax and do her best. She so wanted to be considered a good volleyball player, and patience was never one of Meg’s strong points. That same week I helped chaperone the Middle School Snowflake Dance with Meg in attendance; she looked so grown up and yet still so much a kid in her excitement as a middle school student. What I didn’t know at the time was that Meg had just started experiencing stomach problems the day of the dance. She got her hair done in the morning, attended the dance, and then on Sunday she had her crucial second club tryout practice. All of this was going on as Meg was experiencing some painful stomach issues. Monday she stayed home from school, and by Tuesday her long journey began with emergency surgery performed that day. At the middle school we had so many questions about the operation and everything she was going through. The school community immediately began trying to figure out how to best support her and the family.

Meg would undergo chemotherapy that winter, and she must have heard we were having some off-season volleyball practices. One night I remember hearing some commotion by the entrance door to the auxiliary gym while we were playing. I thought it was some kids who just wanted to come into the gym to get out of the cold. Instead, it was one of the
best
surprises you could ever imagine. It was Meg with Mike and Nancy. Meg had just completed a chemo session, and she must have insisted that she be taken to the gym to see her friends play volleyball. Meg looked understandably whipped, but she mustered a smile or two as we all stopped play and came to see her. As always she told us she would be back soon, and we knew she would be—
somehow.

The 2009 season was Meghan’s freshmen year. Meg had worked hard over the summer on her game. As with all teams, there was a pecking order for playing time, and Meg was playing behind our senior, Tanya Brewer, who would go on to make First team All-League. We knew we wanted Meg on the floor as much as possible for matches, so we had her play opposite Tanya. Meg would run the scout team during practice as well as fill in with the first team. It was during practice that she established a remarkable work ethic, and even as a freshman demanded others have the same. We loved having fun at practice, but Meg was the barometer—often giving me
the look
, as if to say, “It’s time to get serious.” That was highly unusual for a younger player on a varsity sport. But Meg’s life experiences told her time was precious, and we could have fun
after
practice.

Meg established a great rapport with her two middle blockers. Both Bridget and Olivia would become close friends with Meg on and off the court. Bridget was highly skilled but a goofball, and Olivia was more serious and a fellow freshman on this league championship team. Working closely with Erin Snyder, Meg developed that special
touch
that a setter needs to run a quick attack. This did not come easy to Meg, and she used to get very frustrated in the process. I used the phrase “baby steps” to try to get Meg to realize that this timing would take a while to achieve. Eventually the light bulb went off, and she was able to set both Bridget and Olivia with remarkable consistency. Meg was ecstatic and would have taken the entire practice setting quicks if we had let her. Because of the chemistry she developed with Olivia, we came to call them the “freshmen connection.” Imagine the two youngest players on the team being able to time one of the most exciting plays in all of sports. They were magical together. On the bench there would be great anticipation waiting for Olivia to rotate to the front court and become available for these play sets.

And then there was the chemistry between Meg and Bridget. When Meg did play with the first team she was able to make the most of her opportunities to set Bridget. This special timing that existed between Bridget and Meg would stay with her right to the last match of her life in November of 2010. What remarkable memories for all who witnessed those special plays that season.

At the end of the 2009 league season Meg got some bad news; the cancer had returned, and surgery would be necessary. Meg’s first reaction was to worry about the play-offs that were coming up. Could this surgery be postponed long enough for her to complete her season? A lot of phone calls and meetings ensued, and Meghan’s wishes were met. Certainly it would be Nancy or Mike who would deliver this seemingly good news to Meg. Well, Nancy had other ideas, and she contacted me and said, “You tell her.” I ran over to the high school and had her pulled out of class in order to tell her she would be able to complete her season, and then have her second surgery. She was so relieved, and her attention was now focused on preparing to make a play-off run during sectionals.

I have been coaching for 38 years and have witnessed some pretty amazing feats both during practice and during match play. Nothing will compare to watching Meghan prepare for the playoffs. On one particular day we played Challenge Court—which tested players’ mettle to the maximum. Meg was relentless digging up balls and wanted to beat both Bridget and Erin, who were equally competitive. Mike happened to be present and witnessed the passion and drive that Meg showed that day. During one play in particular Meg slammed into the wall, and I definitely feared for her safety. The semi-finals of sectionals pitted Roy-Hart against Falconer. We stood an outstanding chance of upsetting Falconer if we played a near perfect match. That was not in the cards on that day, but we had decided to use Meg as a “spark plug.” She would come off the bench and provide those intangibles that few athletes possess. She was able to jump-start an offense that clearly was not in synch.

The 2009 season ended, and Meg had her surgery as planned. Meg was awarded the Most Improved Player Award for her team in the Royalton-Hartland auditorium while she was in Buffalo recovering. It was an emotional night for many people, especially myself. I remember telling the audience to wait until next year when she and Bridget would be tearing up the league with great sets and attacks. In my mind I was picturing Meg giving me her famous thumbs-up gesture suggesting, “Don’t worry Coachie; things will be fine.”

The summer of 2010 was busy for Meg. She went to Hawaii with her family, attended two volleyball camps, including one at the University of Wyoming where Bridget would go on to play Division I volleyball. She played softball, something she had wanted to do for a while. She went to Spikers (our in-house summer volleyball club) when she could, and she was on top of the world. She told me her blood count numbers were good, and she wished the season would begin right away
.