Remembering a volleyball mom

posted by Jeff | Friday, November 15, 2013, 11:48 PM | comments: 0

I was surprised this morning to see on Facebook that one of my high school classmates, in fact I think she was alphabetically one or two names before me in my class of 500 or so, announced that her mom passed away. Christine Popovich was mom to Lee Ann, in my class, Laura, a year ahead, and Lynn, two years behind. Lisa graduated before I knew her, but I do recall talking to her a bit since she was obviously at her sisters' athletic events.

The girls almost had a royal quality because there were so many of them, and they were all total sweethearts. My high school experience was not ideal, but the girls I went to school with were always very friendly toward me. Since I managed the varsity volleyball team (yeah, I lettered in girls volleyball, don't judge), and the three who were there when I was active in the program all played, naturally their mom was a fixture in the bleachers. And by fixture I mean audibly present.

While I would go on to coach many volleyball teams, in high school and club, Mrs. Popovich was arguably one of the greatest volleyball moms ever. Of course she would yell and scream at stupid calls by the officials, but most of the time she played by the rules that governed her daughters. Sure, she would disagree with coaching decisions from time to time, but she was careful about how she talked about them, so as not to undermine the coach's authority. Even better, if one of her kids simply wasn't performing, she wouldn't coddle or endorse a half-assed effort. She would be the first in line to say, "You didn't try hard enough." I loved that about her, and mistakenly thought most parents were that way when I went on to coach. Plus, she was fucking hilarious. She was one of those personalities that didn't have to try to be the life of the party, because it just came naturally.

And for me personally, Mrs. P always treated me like an adult, and was always kind. I struggled so much trying to fit in at school, having moved in to Brunswick in the middle of grade nine. The athletic director at the time, Judy Kirsch, kind of took me in to get me involved despite having about zero athletic ability (volleyball didn't really come to me until my junior year of college). Putting me in the loop with the volleyball coaches really gave me a place to belong, and the awesome parents of the day only made that easier. All of the Popovich girls played one or more sports, so I saw their mom quite a bit, year-round. She always made time to talk to me, and never hesitated to give me a lift home after events if I didn't have one.

As difficult as it seems sometimes to raise just one kid, she did it four times, and you've gotta respect that. But even more importantly, she was kind to others, regardless of age. That's something you have to keep in mind as you go through life. You might not think much of about it at the time, but looking out for kids, even in the most subtle and seemingly inconsequential of ways, can make a difference in their lives. I needed adult friendships, and Mrs. P was one of those people.

My sincerest sympathies go out to her family. I know that today was most certainly a sad day, but I hope their memories are as good as mine are!


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