Volleyball Season Recap, with Coach Lori Pax

After the conclusion of this season, I had the chance to chat with Plainfield volleyball coach Lori Pax to learn more about her and get her thoughts on the 2023 team.

NOTE: The interview recording was an epic fail, so I did my best to write this based on memory and the handful of notes I jotted down. My apologies to Coach Pax if I missed anything or got something wrong.

Tell me a bit about your coaching history. Am I correct that this was your fourth season as the volleyball coach at Plainfield, but you had some other stops prior to that?

Yes, it’s my fourth year at Plainfield. Prior to that, I coached in a few other states – Florida, Oklahoma, Texas – before moving to Indiana. My husband was in the military, so we moved around a little bit.

Are you employed by the district?

No, I’m a lay coach.

Do you have family, kids, pets, you’d like to mention?

My son plays baseball at Eastern Florida State, and my daughter plays tennis at Monmouth University in New Jersey.

How did you get into coaching volleyball? Did you play at some level before you started coaching?

I played volleyball for years – both indoor and beach volleyball. So, I’ve always loved the sport. I was actually a three-sport athlete growing up. I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. I coached basketball for quite a while as well.

With a background in both basketball and volleyball, I understand the sports are obviously very different, but are there elements of coaching that you’ve been able to apply to both?

Yes and no. There are certainly ways that you can train your body to move that will cross over from one sport to another, so teaching those mechanics can have similarities.

So, let’s talk a bit about this season and this year’s team. If you can step back to before the season started, what kind of expectations did you have for this year?

We knew going in that this was going to be probably the most difficult schedule we’ve had at Plainfield, maybe ever. But we scheduled it that way intentionally. I kind of have the mindset that if you want to be the best, you have to play the best. And in 4A competition, there are some really excellent teams.

As far as expectations, I knew we had a talented roster. Last year, we fought a lot of injuries, and the two years before that, we were dealing with COVID and quarantines off and on, so this year I was really looking forward to getting into a more normal routine and seeing what we could do.

If I were to sit down with the girls from your team, what would they tell me is the coaching advice they got from you over and over throughout the season?

Communication and consistency build championships. Don’t get bitter; get better. A lot about having the right attitude more than anything else probably.

What are some highlights from this season that stand out for you?

Despite that difficult schedule, still finishing 24-9 and winning conference. Those are big accomplishments. We also had some huge individual milestones, with Ava Utterback reaching 1,000 kills and Maddie Lynch with 1,000 assists. It was a really outstanding year for those two.

Looking at your team’s posts on Twitter and Instagram, it seems like this group has a lot of fun. Is that an accurate statement?

We do try to do some fun things throughout the season. A lot of it is just getting outside of the gym from time to time to do some team-building activities. I think that helps build camaraderie and it makes the hard practices feel less like work.

What are some things you learned about this team – or from this team – this season that you’ll be able to apply with next year’s squad?

I think I just saw them build a lot of confidence. We had a lot of good young players on the team this year, in addition to the seniors, so I think going into next year with an attitude of believing in themselves is going to put us in a good place.

Also, this year’s 8th grade team at the middle school had a really great season, so I’m really excited about what that could mean for the future of our program.

Any comments or shout-outs to the seniors from this year’s team?

Our seniors really brought a lot of the leadership qualities that the other kids looked for and needed, and I can’t say enough about that. Maddie Lynch and Ava Utterback both played on our conference championship team as freshmen, and then got to win another one this season. They both came in as true leaders and were unanimously voted as captains; and rightfully so. And they did a great job with that.

And Maddy Bishop and Madison Schilling; the team is really going to miss their personalities. They’re great girls, coachable girls, and I think it’s going to be a hard hole to fill at the middle position.

They all left their mark on Plainfield, and with the conference title, they finished on a high point. I’m really proud of that. We’re definitely going to miss all of the seniors.

Anything you’d like to say to the families and fans who’ve supported the team along the way?

This was probably one of the most supportive years we’ve had from families – from decorating lockers to having our cancer night, were we raised a lot of money for a local child who’s battling cancer. It was pretty cool to see how everybody in the community came together to do something that’s much bigger than volleyball.

If we can keep building on that, it really creates the right culture to where we’ll make our program that much stronger over the years. And I think we can eventually bring home that sectional championship.

Thanks again for your time, Coach. Congrats again your conference championship season, and I look forward to seeing what the future brings.

Girls Soccer Season Recap, with Coach Mitch Holden

After sectionals, I caught up with Mitch Holden, Plainfield High School's girls soccer coach, to get his thoughts on the recent season.

Tell me a bit about your coaching history. Am I correct that this was your third season as the soccer coach at Plainfield, but you had some other stops prior to that?

Yeah, this is my third season at Plainfield. Prior to that, my first coaching job was Mooresville girls. I was there for two years, and one of the most ironic things about being in Plainfield now is that the last team to beat Plainfield in conference was my Mooresville team back in 2017. Plainfield’s had quite a run, and I plan to continue that. I don’t let anyone else beat Plainfield.

After that, I went to Lawrence North for three years, won two sectionals there, and then a spot in Plainfield opened. I live in Camby, so the drive from Lawrence North was less than ideal, and Plainfield has a great program and a great town and close to home.

And what’s your role at the high school? How long have you been there?

I’m an instructional assistant and I help Coach Bless with the POA classroom. And I help to run the Learning Center, which is our Edmuntum and Plato courses. So kids, rather than retaking a physical class, will do an online version, and I basically proctor that. I been in that role for three years as well.

Do you have family, kids, pets, you’d like to mention?

I’ve been married for nine years. We have two boys – a 5 year old and an almost 2 year old, and then we have a Rottweiler named Thor and two cats. I’m not a huge fan of the cats, but I inherited them, so I guess we get to keep them.

How did you get into coaching soccer? Did you play at some level before you started coaching?

I played all through high school, and played club soccer until I was 18 and went to college. I had offers to play out of high school, but I wanted to go to Purdue my whole life, and Purdue doesn’t have a men’s soccer program. So, I kind of said, well, I guess I’m not playing soccer in college. But I don’t regret that. I spent two years at Purdue and then I joined the Navy.

When I got home from the Navy and was finishing my degree at IUPUI, my wife worked at Mooresville as a math teacher. The girls soccer job was open, it was May, and they hadn’t found a coach. My wife said, “You’ve played at a high level. You’ve worked with high-level teams before and high-level athletes before. Would you be interested?” I thought, sure, why not. So, I applied and was the only person to apply.

Looking back, I kind of cringe at how it started. I got my first coaching job because no one else wanted it. But that’s what I did, and I fell in love with it. Now, I coach club soccer also, so outside of the instructional assistant role, I coach soccer full time.

Have you always coached girls?

Yeah

Is it hard to coach teenage girls?

It’s a learning curve for sure, but once you’ve been around them long enough, you learn that they don’t want to be looked at as girls. They want to be looked at as athletes.

I’m very unapologetically not soft with them, and they prefer it that way. They just want to be athletes. They want to work hard. They want someone to hold them accountable. And I think they get annoyed, quite honestly, if people are too soft with them because that’s not what they’re looking for. They want someone to push them and help them achieve their goals and their dreams.

There’s actually a book that’s a mandatory read for anyone who wants to be a captain on my team. It’s called “Everything Your Coach Never Told You Because You’re a Girl,” and the author was the former head coach at Embry-Riddle University where he won three national championships at the NAIA level for women’s soccer. It’s not negative or anything like that; it basically says that just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you get treated like a princess. I’ve found that the book really resonates with them.

So, let’s talk a bit about this season and this year’s team. If you can step back to before the season started, what kind of expectations did you have for this year?

I was a little concerned about where we were going to be defensively. We graduated three seniors from our defensive line and another who was our defensive midfielder, so I was kind of concerned where we might end up. There were a lot of question marks about who was going to step in and fill some very important roles. We had an idea where we wanted to go with it and then once we started getting into the summer and actually got them on the field and saw them training, all of that kind of flipped on its head real quick. And we recognized that we’re actually going to have a very good defensive unit.

Expectations-wise, we knew we were going to be able to score. We have one of the most elite athletes in the state with Ellie Stewart, and we have other athletes around her that can score goals. It was more of how were we going to protect our goal, and we didn’t have a solid answer – at goalkeeper, at center back, at outside back. Going into the season, we planned to start two sophomores at center back. Unfortunately, one of them suffered an injury in the scrimmage before the season, so we had a senior , Baylee Smith, step into a new role at center back and quite honestly, it’s the best thing that could have happened to the team because it brought a level of accountability that you probably only get from a senior. We probably would have given up more goals than we did or perhaps even lost a couple of games as our sophomores learned and grew and learned how to communicate. Baylee was able to step in and I think set a great example of what we’re looking for long term at the position. I think the sophomores really learned a lot from her.

Back to your question about expectations, we expect to win conference. Our next goal was to win a sectional. Unfortunately, we were close, but just not there. I would say, I was expecting to be about equivalent of last year, and the girls definitely exceeded the expectations.

If I were to sit down with the girls from your team, what would they tell me is the coaching advice they got from you over and over throughout the season?

First touch. Your first touch sets up everything else. If you have a bad first touch, then you have to have a second touch, and in that time, the defenders have closed the space. They hear that from me over and over again. You have to have a good first touch and then set your teammate up for success.

What are some highlights from this season that stand out for you?

Actually, two ties really stood out. Against Center Grove, we were able to come back from 0-1 down to tie. Center Grove is a team that I can’t even look back through MaxPreps and find a time where we beat them or tied them or anything like that. So, getting a tie against that program was really big for us.

The other big moment was when we were down 2-0 to state champion Park Tudor, and with about 10 minutes left, we were able to claw back two goals to tie them. So, not two wins, but two giant ties against some very, very good teams. We kind of faced adversity and were able to battle through it to get the result.

What are some things you learned about this team – or from this team – this season that you’ll be able to apply with next year’s squad?

That we’re very good at keeping the ball and we’re very good at controlling matches. Some things that we need to learn to do better will be to develop more scoring chances. But, I think the biggest thing we learned this year is that we are capable of keeping the ball even against good teams. We can play a possession type of attack and style of play, and it benefits us because it keeps the game manageable by keeping it a little slower. So, when we play the Carmels and Brownsburgs of the world, they can’t just run up and down the field and use their athleticism.

I think gaining the confidence that we could keep the ball against good teams is going to help us going forward to beat those good teams in the future. Being able to keep the ball was the reason we were able to get a good result against Center Grove and Park Tudor. Otherwise, we would have just been kicking it back to their really good playmakers, and we couldn’t create our own chances.

Any comments or shout-outs to the seniors from this year’s team?

We actually only had three seniors, and going into the season, that was a giant question mark because they had some big classes in front of them that had some very strong leaders. So, we weren’t really sure who was going to step up. But our seniors embraced their roles very, very well.

Baylee Smith, who had been a three-year starter at outside back, had to slide in to be a center back and take a different role, and she did marvelously.

Issy Pridemore as our starting attacking midfielder was the catalyst that made everything go. Ellie Stewart was only able to do the things that she did because Issy Pridemore was able to provide her the balls and corner kicks and everything else.

And then we had, Gabby Hauck. At first, she was disappointed in her role in which she came off the bench for us. But, whenever we needed to make an adjustment, we went to Gabby. She’s very intelligent and communicates very well, so we were able to give her our adjustments and she was able to go on the field and organize things and get things situated so that we could adjust in game without having to wait until halftime or have me yelling from the sideline so the other team would know exactly what we were doing.

Anything you’d like to say to the families and fans who’ve supported the team along the way?

Yeah, just thank you for having our backs. All the time. Thank you for supporting us and being loud and cheering us on. You know, the parents and all the supporters that we have, that’s what really makes us go, and that’s what the girls thrive on. So, I can’t thank them enough for not just cheering us on, but for always being positive and being positive about the girls, even in situations when they weren’t very positive in themselves. The parents are really where you build a culture because kids are going to take what they learn at home and bring it into their school life and their soccer life. Our parents have done a great job.

That’s all I’ve got Coach. Thank you for your time. Congrats again on a great season, and good luck with club and indoor coaching the rest of the year.

Boys Soccer Season Recap, with Coach AJ McAdams

After the conclusion of the season, I caught up with AJ McAdams, Plainfield High School's boys soccer coach, while he was on the road to watch a former Plainfield athlete play a soccer game for Rose Hulman. We discussed the season and his background as a coach.

Tell me a bit about your coaching history. Am I correct that you were the soccer coach at Plainfield, left for a bit and then returned this season?

I’ve had a long coaching career. I’ve probably coached longer than I’ve actually taught. My wife and I moved to Indianapolis in 2001 because I was the assistant coach at Butler University for the men’s soccer program. So, at one point, that was the road I thought I was going to go down was college coaching. I really enjoyed it, then got out of it, because I really wanted to be in the classroom, and then I taught at Warren Central High School for nine years. This is actually my third school that I’ve coached at in the Indianapolis area – two years at Warren with the boys, two years at Mooresville with the girls, three years at Plainfield with the girls, and then took a break because I was coaching my sons in club soccer, and then now I’ve come back on the boys side. So, this is my second stint here at Plainfield.

And you teach in the science department at PHS? How long have you been there?

Yes, that’s right. This is year eight at Plainfield, and it’s my 20th year in education.

Do you have family, kids, pets, you’d like to mention?

My wife Karen and I have been married 22 years, and we have two boys – Liam is a freshman at Plainfield who played for me this season, and Aiden is a sixth-grader at the middle school.

How did you get into coaching soccer? Did you play at some level before you started coaching?

Yeah, I played all the way through at the youth level. I’m from Evansville, Indiana, originally so I was lucky because I played on really good club teams and then played at Evansville Memorial High School which traditionally has one of the best soccer programs in the state. I then went on to play at the University of Evansville, which was Division I soccer. At that time, I actually started coaching while I was still in college; coaching my younger sister’s club team while I was still at Evansville. That got me into it very early on. So, I was coaching when I was pretty young.

And then you just kind of followed the path up to the Indy area?

That’s right. When I was still in playing shape, I thought it was smart to get my coaching licenses, so I did my C, B, and A national licenses all in consecutive summers. A is the highest coaching license that you can get. So, I built a lot of connections through that, and that’s sort of how I started the college coaching gig.

So, let’s talk a bit about this season and this year’s team. If you can step back to before the season started, what kind of expectations did you have for this year?

I knew almost everyone on our roster before the season started. I’ve known these kids for a long time. I think everybody knew that it was going to be a huge challenge for two reasons. One, we knew we were going to have an incredibly young team; we graduated like 12 or 13 seniors, which for Plainfield High School, is a huge class. And secondly, we knew our schedule was going to be a killer. So, we knew it was going to be a challenge. But our boys had a great summer, trained hard, got better, and so we felt pretty good going into the season. We felt really good, but we knew it was going to be a super challenge.

So, you mentioned that you knew all of the players on the team. That kind of plays into my next question. If I’m not mistaken, your predecessor, Coach Sheppard, was at PHS for 6 years. What was it like stepping in as the coach of a group that’s been playing together already for several years as the new guy, but then also part of the old guard because you had coached here previously as well.

Actually, I felt like the transition was pretty seamless. Obviously, I love Drew (Sheppard). He was fantastic, and so I would actually go in and play in with them in the offseason, playing indoor and stuff like that. So, I knew all of the guys. Everybody that was going to be on the roster, I think they knew me, too. Actually, I coached a lot of these kids when they were younger in club soccer, so it wasn’t really a big deal. I’d say there were very few guys on the roster that I hadn’t coached before.

If I were to sit down with the boys from your team, what would they tell me is the coaching advice they got from you over and over throughout the season?

Our big mantra was to work hard. We wanted to make sure that we were mentally and physically tough, but also playing soccer the right way That’s one of the things that can be a struggle at times during the season. It was a bit of a switch for them because a lot of these guys were used to playing more of a direct style of soccer, and I don’t really want to do that. I want to make sure we’re keeping possession of the ball, switching the point of attack, so that was probably the message I got out there the most.

What are some highlights from this season that stand out for you?

I think there were a couple. Number one, you look at us compared to other teams in our conference. Nobody played a schedule like ours. So, the one thing I have to say is that I feel like our guys fought hard the entire year and stayed in games even if we didn’t win. They challenged themselves and they played hard. There wasn’t a single point where I felt like our guys gave up on the season, which was a good sign.

Also, I think the Perry win was huge. We haven’t beaten Perry Meridian in years, so to beat them on their turf was great. And at the beginning of the year, we lost to Noblesville 1-0. In many ways, even though it was a lost, it was an accomplishment because Noblesville is the two-time state champs. Our guys played so hard that night and that was the case in a lot of the games we played.

Later, at the end of the year, we tied a really good Westfield team, and I thought that was a really good result. So, there were definitely some highlights. It was a tough season, but I was really proud of the way we played.

What are some things you learned about this team – or from this team – this season that you’ll be able to apply with next year’s squad?

I think I knew this going in, but we were kind of setting the foundation this year for where I see this team going in the future. We’re very fortunate from the standpoint that we have some really great kids in our program, but this was going to be a big learning year. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores that actually got some varsity time, and there’s going to be some good competition for those spots next year.

Just to put things in perspective, our JV team only lost two games this year, and those were to Center Grove and Noblesville. That was it. So, we have a bunch of young guys chomping at the bit. And now with a year under their belt, it’s definitely going to help them out for next year.

And with my younger son playing in middle school, I get a chance to see the kids coming up through that program, and it’s exciting to look ahead at the future of Plainfield boys soccer.

Do you have anything you’d like to say to the seniors on this year’s team, or to the families and fans who’ve supported them along the way?

Yeah, it’s a great group of kids. We had only four of them, which is a very, very small senior class, but these four are definitely going to be missed. Connor Clark, Matthew Haberkorn, Sam Bebe, and Anthony Blissmer. These guys have really been incredible contributors to the program, and all four of them had a really good soccer season. I have to hand it to them, because they all knew it was going to be a challenge, especially with a young team, but they were great leaders. They didn’t give in, they never got negative, so it was a great year.

Really proud of the families, too. Obviously, I’ve known a lot of these families for a long time as well.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Well, I do want to share one thing. We’re very luck to have the support from our administration. Torrey Rodkey was incredible. He was literally out there cutting the soccer field getting it prepared for sectionals. And Pat Cavanaugh is a guy that comes to most of our games, and he’s been outstanding. And obviously, Pat Cooney came out to a lot of our games as well. It’s just great to have that support.

And my coaching staff was also tremendous. We were able to retain Max Flory as our JV coach, and he does a great job with the younger kids. Matt Miller, who played here, served as our goalkeeping coach for the boys and girls. He does an outstanding job. And we also had Kaiah Haberkorn as my varsity assistant, who was a great addition. Kaiah played for me when I was coaching the girls, and I feel pretty confident saying that she was probably the greatest girls soccer player that’s played at Plainfield, so it was really good having her here to work with the guys. It’s nice to see young people coming back and contributing as coaches; that’s something we need.

Coach, I appreciate your time. Congratulations again on a good season.