Coming home

MOUNT VERNON - Earlier this month, Mount Vernon hosted Dyersville Beckman in its first high school volleyball match of the season.

Although the Mustangs plays Beckman every year, something was a little too familiar about the Blazers' coaching staff this time around.

Former Mount Vernon defensive specialist Christa Winders was on the Beckman bench as freshman and assistant varsity coach.

Returning to Mount Vernon brought back some memories for Winders.

'I was glad to see their success in the program,” said Winders, a libero her entire high school career. 'They're very good coaches.”

Winders has been coaching Intensity (Beckman's club team) for the past two years. Looking at her team's success and how much the girls love her, the Beckman coaching staff offered her a position to coach at the middle school level. Later, they came back with a second offer to coach their freshmen team.

Winders enjoys coaching at Beckman, but her overall goal is to return to Mount Vernon and continue coaching at her alma mater.

'I would love to do that,” Winders said. 'It would feel like home, plus I'd be closer to my family.”

She hopes to apply for special education and coaching jobs at Mount Vernon once she gets her degree in speech pathology and communication disorders.

Even though Mount Vernon beat Beckman, 3-0, the coaching styles are very similar on both teams. Serve and serve-receive are some of the basics that are critically covered with both sets of coaches. Winders said, even though there are some similarities between the teams, Beckman's situations is different and adjusting to those differences is part of being a coach.

Maggie Willems, Mount Vernon's varsity head coach, has contacted Winders about possibly coaching a club team for Mount Vernon this winter. She has yet to make her final decision.