Earhart makes volleyball a family affair

PLAINS – A daughter’s relationship with her father is sacred. It’s a special bond that is everlasting. He is the man who gives her away on her wedding day, he is the man who helped raise her, and for the Earhart girls, he is the man who coached them.

Kim Earhart loves volleyball. There is no doubt about it. When he talks about the game his face brightens up and you can see the fiery passion in his eyes burst. He talks about volleyball like an elegant opera of different movements and sounds and displays that even Bizet could envy.

He has always been a volleyball player. Since his days in church league and continued into college - it has always been his sport. There might be only two things he is more passionate about than volleyball – God and his family.

The Earharts moved to Plains several years ago when Kim became the pastor at the Baptist Church. He was looking for a way to get involved with his new community.

“I prayed and asked the Lord for a way into the community,” Earhart said. “I met Calvin (Minemeyer) when I got to town. He invited me to play ‘old man’ volleyball at the school.”

The next day a meeting was set up for him to meet the head volleyball coach in Plains. She saw his passion and his knowledge of the game. He was given the opportunity to join the staff.

Now in his second stint with the team, he remembers how things were during his first go-around with the volleyball team.

Earhart remembers feeling the pressure from the community as well as on his family for some of his decisions while coaching.

“When you are in the community, you are always looked at as the coach who favorites his own kids and that’s something I had to deal with,” Earhart said.

After four coaches in four years he returned to the court. He then remembered he had two younger daughters who were on their way up to the high school level and had to make a tough decision.

“My eyes were more open to how the community saw me,” he said. “Sometimes you get scrutiny no matter which way you go. But I love the game and the players. There is no perfect coach.”

With his two youngest daughters moving into the high school ranks while during his tenure, Earhart has had to balance being dad and being coach.

“Sometimes it gets annoying talking about volleyball all the time,” Kim’s daughter Felicia Earhart said. “But I like having him as a coach.”

Felicia sometimes struggles on the court with what to call her father.

“It’s hard to call him coach, it’s like dad….no coach,” she said. “I took a lot of scrutiny my freshman year for being on varsity and I rode the bench. I was the back-up setter.”

Felicia’s younger sister feels pressure too.

“I think he puts more pressure on us to do good,” said his youngest daughter Kimberly. “I don’t know if it’s pressure.”

Felicia interrupted Kimberly to finish her thought.

“I think we feel like there is pressure, but not really,” Felicia said. “I think we make it up.”

The sisters feel like they are treated as equal on the team and get no special treatment from their dad. The girls feel that their teammates sometimes try to get them to use their “daddy’s little girl” looks to get something fun out of practices.

“When I was a freshman especially, the older girls would say ‘hey ask your dad if we can do this,’” Felicia said. “I always would because I wanted the other girls to like me. Now I’m like, go ask him yourself.”

Being the daughters of the coach has some unique advantages – or disadvantages depending on your perspective.

“After every game we come home and no matter what, block out an hour to talk about the game,” Felicia said. “I had a friend come over and ask about ‘so coach what did you think about the game’ and for two hours we sat and analyzed the game. It’s fun, I like it.”

The girls never want to try to get away from their dad, even on days when they do not feel the greatest. They never look for an excuse to miss practice or avoid their father.

“There was a time last year when we were fighting, oh yeah,” Felicia said remembering a troubling time for her and her father’s relationship. Something they have worked out.

“We have a great relationship with our parents. Sports are my out, I really like being active,” Felicia added.

Kimberly sometimes wishes to miss other practices when she is having a bad day, but volleyball does not give her that feeling.

“Volleyball is the one sport I love playing,” Kimberly said.

Earhart knows he has to separate being dad and being coach even when things aren’t always going so smooth on either side of the isle.

“I had the opportunity to work with my dad,” Earhart said with a tear in his eye. “He was my pastor, I was his associate and worked with him for twelve years. Those relationships either work really well or not at all. I worked really hard to when I was at his house to call him dad and when we were at church to call him pastor.”

Having been on the other side of the issue, Earhart knows when to say something and when not to say something. In his opinion raising girls is hard.

“They sometimes need their space and be able to state their opinion,” he said. “ I need to respect that. We talk about life’s lessons. I find it a privilege to be able to not only coach my daughters but everyone’s daughters.”

He hopes the parents understand his policy of letting those who perform the best, play more on the court. He knows not everyone understands why he makes some of the choices he does in game situations.

“Volleyball isn’t basketball,” he said. “You are limited with how many substitutions you can make and if this player subs for that player they can only sub back in for that player.”

Earhart believes that personal development, above all else is the key to success in sports.

“My wife and I have tried to teach our kids that after high school, people aren’t going to remember how many points you scored in a game, but they will remember your character, your hard work, or your work ethic and that’s really what’s important.”