A Family Affair: Tight-Knit Bulls Open Season on Friday
By Joey Johnston
USF volleyball, the family that plays together, has bonded through adversity and change in the past year — responding to a new coach, weathering an uncertain offseason, learning about each other during a shortened spring and accelerating to normalcy, beginning with Friday afternoon's opening match against Rutgers University in Fort Myers.
"We care about each other,'' Bulls redshirt freshman outside hitter Makayla Washington said.
"It's very much like a family environment here,'' Bulls sophomore outside hitter Jac St. Cin said.
That might sound like a worn-out cliche. But with the Bulls, it's real.
USF head coach Jolene Shepardson and her husband, assistant coach Aaron Shepardson, don't have to force a family environment when they bring their five children to practice. From age 9 to 1 — three girls and two boys — the Shepardson kids line up and travel as a well-orchestrated group, like they stepped off the set of "The Sound of Music.''
The Von Trapp family spikers?
Having five gym rats regularly roaming through the Corral might seem crazy, but not for Shepardson. She was a gym rat herself, growing up as Jolene Patton, a constant presence with the teams of her father (men's basketball coach at Hillsborough Community College) and mother (volleyball coach at the University of Tampa). She grew into Hillsborough County's best prep player, then a standout at UT and USF.
"I thought it was a great life, always being around the game,'' Shepardson said. "Now my kids get to live that life, too.''
And the Bulls think it's great.
"How can you not love those kids?'' Washington said. "Kids are hilarious.''
"It's a lot of kids to keep track of,'' St. Cin said. "I'm sure their life can be crazy sometimes. But they do a great job and the kids are always going to remember these times with their parents. So will we.''
There's Mirabelle (9), who's nearly fluent in Spanish while attending a dual-language school. She's like her father — meticulous, driven, detailed and super perceptive.
There's McCoy (7), an effervescent boy, a joyful free spirit, the life of the party who rides emotional waves, a dreamer, somewhat like his mother.
There's Marielle (6), a girl who likes to think she runs the show, a true competitor, a left-hander who's always ready to make a reasoned argument for something she wants. A future attorney?
There's Major (3), a teddy bear of a boy, a lover, a hugger, a kid who wants everybody to get along.
Now there's Malonne (1), who seemed quiet and calm, but now she's coming out of her shell. She's squealing louder than any of them did, but hey, when you're the fifth of five, you want to be heard, right?.
"Having a year when you change jobs (Shepardson came to USF from San Jose State in early 2020), then managing five kids, I'm not sure a lot of people would advise that,'' Jolene Shepardson said with a laugh. "I like to be busy. I'm surely never bored.''
"There's always something to do and there can be no end to your day until you decide to end it,'' Aaron Shepardson said. "We have a full house, a full life, full of problems, but full of blessings at the same time. We're busy because we're lucky enough to have work and a family. Some people don't have either. We have it pretty good.''
They met in 2003 in Colorado, through a mutual volleyball friend. Aaron already was coaching and Jolene was winding down her playing career, knowing that she wanted to coach. Two years later, they were married. Aaron got the job at American University and Jolene tagged along. Then things shifted. Jolene became an assistant at Virginia Tech and Aaron was the volunteer assistant.
By the time, Jolene was hired as head coach at Cal State-Bakersfield, then San Jose State, Aaron was fully entrenched in the supporting role — and loving it.
"Jolene has such an amazing, engaging personality and a wonderful volleyball mind as well,'' Aaron said. "She was easily offered promotions and jobs. She quickly became head-coach material. I don't think that's necessarily the right role for me. I'm more of a teacher than the face of the program."
"Jolene has the sense of the big picture. I'm more into the details. She has a bead on team chemistry and maybe I can help an individual with fundamentals or skills. We complement each other. We see different things, yet share the same beliefs.''
In volleyball — and life.
"We knew we wanted kids, our own family,'' Aaron said. "We had some trouble at first with fertility. We were told we would never have kids. They said it was basically impossible. That was a really hard day, a really sad day. We were really devastated."
"But you know what? Some things are meant to be. We found some other doctors. And they found a way.''
Some people might call that a miracle — or maybe it's just what's meant to be. Either way, the parents are learning to juggle tasks and make every moment count. Actually, they don't have a choice.
"My mom (Sandi) helps so much and I have a husband who is very supportive,'' Jolene said. "My mom was a college coach, just like me, and she knows the life. I love being a mom and I love coaching these young women. The lack of sleep doesn't faze me at this point. I'm young. I can bounce back."
"I like the days I get to do both. I believe it makes me a better coach. Being a coach makes me a better mom. It's fun. A lot of parents to have work and get pulled away from them. Here, we're around them a lot and they get to be part of what we do.''
There's plenty of work to be done, but the process can be fun.
"I think we're confident in our ability to accomplish nice things with this program,'' Aaron said. "We were pleasantly surprised with the amount of good people in the program already. We enjoy coaching all the returners. It's not like we've only got to get our players in here. Good people are here. We're bringing in more good people. Now we need to mesh it all together.''
Every day is a challenge — and an opportunity. Jolene and Aaron would have it no other way. It's crazy, but in a good way. Everybody is involved.
That's the good thing about a family that plays together. Even in the most hectic times, it stays together.
