College Sports

Spring brings warm days and sunshine. It means the end of the school year for kids, and for high school seniors, it is time to begin stepping into the “real” world.

Kate Tischner is one of those seniors. Tischner, a student at Greenwood High School in Bowling Green, Ky., has been looking forward to graduation. She signed a letter of intent to attend Western Kentucky University and be manager of the women’s volleyball team.

What’s so special about Kate Tischner? What separates her from the thousands of other students who have inked scholarships, including several at her own high school?

Kate is a special needs student.

She began working with the GHS volleyball team a couple of years ago. She became friends with a couple of former players who got her interested in the sport. Later, some players who were peer tutors in her classes saw her love of the sport, and brought her on-board. After witnessing her spirit and enthusiasm, head coach Holly Whittinghill asked her to become manager and be a part of the team.
The team took her on as one of their own… she wasn’t just a manager, she was their teammate. She cheered for them, chased down volleyballs, grabbed water bottles. She high-fived them in the hallways.

Being a member of the team gave Tischner what her parents had feared she might never know… the feeling of being on a team, of working with others.

According to her mother, Jane Tischner, Kate developed a new identity, one filled with self-confidence. Her father, Steve, said that Kate has always had a sparkle about her, and he is glad that others have had a chance to see that, as well.

There were lots of her “fans” there for her signing. She was escorted to the stage by a classmate, and given a standing ovation. And she even sang her own rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Whittinghill remarked that, “I think that just having the opportunity to go on to college and take classes is a big thing in itself. But to also work with an athletic program like Western, and for them to accept this as an opportunity for them and as an opportunity for her to work iwth their program is not only a big chance for her, but it opens the door for a lot of other kids like her to be able to do something like this.”

Kate said she is going to miss Greenwood. But she is ready for the next step… the same step that many of her fellow classmates are looking forward to, and the same step that her parents once feared she wouldn’t be able to make.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS