Chaparral High volleyball touts talent — and class

In T.R. Ellis' playbook, "class" is involved in every play. Hunger is good. Expectations are high. And the process is everything.

It would seem to be a pretty good playbook. Ellis is head coach for the Chaparral (Parker, Colo.) volleyball team, the defending Colorado 5A state champion and the No. 5 team in the Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings. The Wolverines are ranked No. 1 in the Denver Post polls, and are unbeaten in their first 11 games. Chaparral plays in the Continental conference, the toughest volleyball league in Colorado.

Setting team goals involves a lot of the word "every."

"Every year our goal is to win state," said Ellis. "It is our final goal. But along the way we play in every match, compete for every point, win our league, win our regional, beat our rival. We don't talk about it every day. The entire process from match one to the final point is the journey. We are not looking ahead. We want to go through the process."

Ellis wants that process to include class for the Wolverines. Although the team won the 5A state championship last year, it is more important for Ellis that the program is one that has honor, integrity and class.

"I want to maintain that every year," said Ellis. "I want to have a positive impact at school, and with the kids that I coach."

Those kids are important to Ellis: on the court, in the classroom, and down the road.

"That's the best part of coaching: the relationship with those amazing girls. It is so cool. Especially when they come 10 years later and still want to give you a hug and talk about playing for you and their school. It's great to have a healthy impact. I remind them to eat healthy, reinforce the things you teach them to become better people."

Becoming a better person is a benefit of volleyball, says Ellis. She sees volleyball as a "true" team sport, one in which players must get along and learn to share.

"In basketball, you can do it all. You can rebound and go coast to coast for a lay-up," said Ellis. "In volleyball, you must learn to pass, to get along. It's also a sport where you have to shake off your mistakes and look ahead. There are real life lessons here. We are not all going to have a perfect life. You have to learn to manage and to react to mistakes. We talk a lot about staying classy, and staying composed. Those are life lessons."

Those life lessons go both ways. Ellis considers herself fortunate to teach her players, and get to see and know them off the hardwood.

"In high school, you know the kids because you teach them in your classes and coach them. You see them for more than just a volleyball player," Ellis added.

What she sees on the court, she likes. Ellis thinks this year's team is every bit as good as last year's championship team. And the players have new and valuable experience to bring to the court.

Ellis contributes the team's success to a number of factors, not the least of which is talent.

"I am blessed with amazing talent," said Ellis, in her 14th year at Chaparral. "We have the three best club (teams) right here in the Parker area. It's the luck of the draw."

That luck includes 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter Nicole Dalton, the 2010-11 Gatorade Colorado Volleyball Player of the Year. Dalton has signed to play with Texas.

"She is really special," said Ellis. "She is motivated to just get better. She makes every single player on the team feel needed. She goes all-out all the time, so everyone wants to rise to her occasion. It's an amazing quality."

Additional "luck" for Ellis is libero Emily Podschweit, whom Ellis described as the best libero in the state. Elizabeth Campbell, who has committed to Duke, is another in the luck equation, along with Katie Ford, Mikaela Heble, Ahren Moydell, Madison Thorpe and Abby Shelton.

But it's what Ellis does with that luck that adds up to perennial success for the former Douglas County High (Castle Rock, Colo.) coach.

"Middle school coaches go through our skills camps," said Ellis. "They teach the same skills and same key phrases. We believe in developing our kids and giving them a chance to play. We have the same expectations by the time they get to us. We have high expectations."

And her players meet those expectations. Some of that may be due to the fact that Junior Olympic and Olympic teams train in Colorado Springs, just a stone's throw from Parker. Or it might be because of Ellis' coaching style and philosophies. Ellis played softball in college, when women's collegiate sports were just beginning. A coaching class required her to focus on a sport other than softball, and she opted for volleyball.

"I just fell in love with the game," said Ellis, who also teaches physical education classes and has been with Chaparral High since its opening 14 years ago.

Ellis says she has no personal player skills (having never played) and doesn't consider her coaching style to be anything out of the ordinary.

"I am not a yeller or a screamer, and I never curse," said Ellis. "If the girls curse, they get benched. I want them to be respectful at all times. We have fun, and laugh a lot. Though we are always highly ranked, we don't feel pressure. We're having fun. It's intense, but it's good-natured. Whenever we set team goals, we always include fun."

Dalton played with the USA Youth National Team, including a three-week stint in Turkey. Campbell was an alternate on that team, and trained with it. Podschweit spent three weeks in Russia, playing sand volleyball with (Olympic gold medalist) Misty May.

"This year's team may be better, but Nicole (Dalton) is definitely better," said Ellis. "And these girls are wise beyond their years. Their reaction to each other, after they win a point, they are so excited for one another. They love it when the unsung hero gets the kill or the block. It is something magical to watch."

There's very little magic in Ellis' playbook, but there is a lot of hard work and dedication. She acknowledges that good coaching requires inordinate amounts of time, especially with added duties like website management, keeping statistics and time management.

But the benefits are a powerful motivator.

"We graduated six last year and five are playing in college," said Ellis. "And we have a tough high school academically. Each of our teachers thinks their class is the most important."

Hunger is another motivator, for players and for the coaches, said Ellis.

"The last three years we've come into our own," said the coach. "We've been ranked in the Top 5, and started making the state tournament. We fizzled out three years ago and didn't compete as well as we thought. It drove us to be hungry."

She expects that hunger to morph into a passion for playing the game she came to love.

What advice does she give young players?

"Play because you love it. Go to college camps, learn as much as you can about the sport. Learn there is not a one-and-only way to do things. Stay open to advice from coaches and other players."

Stay hungry. Stay classy. Go through the process.