Coaching couple achieves balance, guides THS to historical season
Brandon and Tiffany Parker say they’re working to find the right balancing act between married life at home and their responsibilities as co-coaches on the volleyball court.
This year, they came pretty darn close to uncovering the answer.
The duo, married seven years and coaches at Tonganoxie High the past four years, led the Chieftains to their most successful volleyball season in school history – a third-place finish at the Class 4A state tournament.
In doing so, the Parkers were named the Journal-World’s all-area volleyball coaches of the year.
“There is technically not a marriage class that involves a husband and wife coaching together,” Brandon Parker said. “Both of us have to work very hard not to bring a bad practice or a bad match home with us. We have to have our own life outside of it. We haven’t perfected it yet, but we try.”
Tonganoxie finished the 2007 season with a record of 31-13, and the Chieftains’ third-place triumph at state marked the farthest any female sports team had gone in the school’s history.
Although the athletes and their natural abilities had a lot to do with that, Tiffany Parker explained how the advantage of having two head coaches during the season helped the Chieftains achieve such success.
“(Brandon’s) stronger in certain areas, and I’m stronger in certain areas,” she said. “It all works together to make a great whole. The kids are able to hear what they need to hear during a match.”
In addition to an extra dose of coaching, Tonganoxie benefited from a roster that included eight seniors who were instrumental in helping the Chieftains make a late-season surge into and through the postseason.
Despite their success as coaches, the Parkers gave all the credit for the memorable season to the THS athletes.
“We’ve had kids that have played for us for three or four years, and they’ve experienced highs and lows,” Brandon Parker said. “They’re a team that was very mature and kept working to get better and better every week. That culminated with us playing our best come late October.”
Tiffany Parker agreed.
“I enjoyed the kids we had on the team,” she said. “Every day they came in, they worked hard. They were very driven. It was fun to be around those types of athletes.”
Journal-World all-area first team
Brooke Carter – Free State
Her 199 blocks this season led the Firebirds, and she set a school record for blocks in a career. She also tallied 169 kills for a 1.94 kills-per-game average, 32 service aces and a 2.216 pass rating.
Carter had 174 digs this season and was named first-team All-Sunflower League.
Taylor Manning – Free State
Manning paced the Firebirds with 263 kills, good for a 2.76 kills-per-game average.
The 6-foot-1 junior outside hitter also had 91 blocks, 119 digs, 30 aces and a 2.108 pass rating to go along with 30 service aces.
Manning was named first-team All-Sunflower League.
Emily Bracciano – Lawrence
The 5-foot-4 senior libero led the Lions in digs with 305 (season high was 16 against Seaman) and led the team with a 2.25 pass rating.
A two-year starter, she was named honorable mention All-Sunflower League.
Sami Franiuk – Tonganoxie
Franiuk was selected to the All-Kaw Valley League first team and was also selected to the Class 4A state all-tournament team for the Chieftains, who finished in third place at state.
The 5-foot-10 THS senior finished the 2007 season with 325 kills, 225 digs, 72 aces and 71 blocks.
Tracie Hileman – Tonganoxie
A three-year starter for the Chieftains, Hileman was selected to the All-Kaw Valley League first team as well as the Class 4A state all-tournament team.
The 5-foot-8 senior finished the year with 356 digs, 259 kills, 76 blocks and 46 aces.
Kara McFarland – Ottawa
The 6-foot junior earned First-Team All-Frontier League honors and led her team in four categories: hitting percentage (.305), blocks (50), block assists (83) and blocks per game (1.03).
She also had 200 kills, averaging 2.25 kills per game.
Tayler Tolefree – Lawrence
A junior middle hitter, Tolefree led her team in blocks. She registered 92 block kills and 217 blocks overall.
Tolefree recorded 179 kills for a .258 accuracy rating and 26 digs.
A two-year starter, Tolefree also made first-team All-Sunflower League.
Nikki Snider – Eudora
Snider was named to the Frontier All-League first team as well as the Tonganoxie All-Tournament team.
She had 475 kills, 321 digs, 61 blocks, 43 aces and a 94 percent serving percentage.
Melanie Chaussee – Free State
The Firebirds’ right-side hitter had 127 kills for an average of 1.36 per game. She also had 133 blocks and 17 digs despite playing limited points in the back row.
Chaussee also earned first-team All-Sunflower League honors.
Honorable Mention
Lindsey Murray, Lawrence High; Kelsey Allen and Alyx Glover, Free State; Hannah Herrstrom, Tonganoxie; Alex Bergan, Baldwin; Kristen Hendrickson, Ottawa; Bria Phipps, Seabury Academy; Mariah Webb, Eudora; Kristie Tiegreen, Adrienne Willems, and Becky Woods, Veritas Christian.