Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in our September print newspaper. It has been updated for our website.
The crowd goes wild. What a monster kill! The Lady Cards score to win the game!
This was not always the reality for the girls GRC volleyball team, but thanks to the up and coming coach Kainan Hudson, this is very much becoming a regular occurance for the team.
This year is the coach’s third year leading the Lady Cards, and the success of the team has done a full 180.
“He has really turned this program around from what it was my freshman year,” says senior Kelsey McKeehan. “GRC volleyball is lucky to have him.”
Hudson was hired in 2021 and took the program by the reins immediately. The previous season before he was hired had an overall 0.08% wins in the full season.
Looking at stats from the most recent 2022-2023 season, Hudson coached his team to many victories with the win percentage now standing higher than 60%.
Last year, Hudson coached his team to win the district championship for the first time since 2018. The team made it all the way to region semi-finals in their post season play as well. This year, GRC won its second consecutive district title and finished the season 25-6.
Not only does Coach Hudson spend hours perfecting his team, but freshmen coach and alumnus Molly Robertson is by his side helping the girls to become their best selves as well.Together the two are a dynamic duo that has completely changed the atmosphere of our school’s volleyball program and they are leaving an impact on the players.
“Kainan has had a huge impact on my life in the past four years,” says senior Ella Grace Lowe. “He has always pushed me to be my best self even outside of volleyball. I look up to the determination that he has for our team.”
Even though we must give props to the hard-working coaches, the girls have had their fair share of turmoil and adversity as well and have constantly set a new status quo.
Each week, these athletes put in, at the least, eight hours of play, sweat, and hard work. They even share the same love for their coach as the community does.
“It has been truly amazing and inspiring to be welcomed into this community and school and it has really become a home for me,” says Coach Hudson. “Being able to witness the growth of each player as a student athlete and what that gives them in any future they decide to have when they leave this program and graduate high school, I think has been the biggest reward to this job.”
Our players and their determined coach have proven time and time again that they are up for the challenge and will always try their hardest. But, they wouldn’t have been able to come this far without Hudson and his genuine love for the sport.
“I have loved this job every step of the way from the moment I accepted it,” Hudson says, “and couldn’t be more thankful for opportunities and lifetime memories I have already experienced here at GRC and cannot wait to see what our future holds.”
These Cardinals and their coaches are ready to continue to come out of the struggle with many stories to tell along the way. This group of athletes has much more to accomplish this season and in the coming seasons with their “fifth set mentality.”
