JEFFERSON —
Edgewood middle hitter Katie Thomas is not one to seek out the spotlight. However, she has been thrust into it by coach Dave Fowler.
“He’s always telling us to go middle, go middle,” Thomas, the daughter of Drew and Micelle Thomas said. “Unless I’m doing really bad.”
Fowler’s rarely, if ever, told the Warriors to stay away from setting Thomas and, for his part, makes no apologies for using his best player as much as possible.
“I tell (the players) all the time, ‘When we’ve got the horses, we’re going to ride them,’ ” Fowler said. “When we’ve got a thoroughbred, giddy up. We’re going to use her.”
Even when Thomas is struggling, Fowler keeps sending the ball her way.
“I let her hit through it,” Fowler had said earlier in the season. “We need to get her going. We need to get her the ball. She’ll carry us when she has to.”
For good reason, Fowler and the Warriors have ridden Thomas to a 16-2 record this season.
“She has the temperament,” Fowler said. “It’s a perfect blend of composure and understanding it’s a game to be played and had fun at. When she hits the ball, she celebrates. When it doesn’t go well, she understands it’s a game and it doesn’t always go right.
“She has the ideal personality. She keeps everything in perspective. I’ve had her in class and she’s a hard-working wonderful person and she’s talented, to boot. She was a little overshadowed by her sister (2011 Star Beacon Player of the Year Ashley Thomas) mainly because her sister was just physically bigger. (Katie) knows she’s our go-to player. She understands her role and does it.”
Following her older sister, Thomas learned what it takes to be the player the Warriors lean on.
“(I’m following Ashley) the best I can,” Thomas said. “(I learned) a lot. She always pushed me to step up and be a leader on the court.
“(She taught me) to never let it get to me. If I feel I’m doing horrible and get upset on the court, it lets the whole team down. I’ve got to stay positive. I do that and everyone else on the team does it, too. I have to just push through the bad.”
Taking over for her sister wasn’t easy for Thomas at first.
“At the beginning of the season, I was really nervous,” she said. “Last year, it was go to Ashley, go Ashley, go to Ashley. I was the backup. This year, I stepped up and have tried to prove I’m as good as her.
“I accepted it and went on with it. It wasn’t very hard. It was a rough start. People were telling me, ‘Katie, you really need to step up.’ I did step up, but everyone else stepped up, too.”
It’s difficult for any player to replace a good teammate lost to graduation. For Thomas, that pressure is double, since the player she replaced is her sister.
“I feel like I need to live up to how she was and even pass her if I can,” Thomas said of her older sister. “I try my best. I’m not very competitive with her, but I feel I need to step into her shoes. Those are big shoes to fill.”
Being the player the Edgewood offense runs through has its advantages.
“It is enjoyable,” Thomas said with a sheepish grin and a slight blush. “It’s to go, go, go. I love hitting. I love volleyball.”
There are times, though, Thomas feels as if the ball comes her way a little too much.
“I feel like everyone needs to share (in the touches),” she said. “I feel bad when we go middle, middle, middle all the time. I tell Anna (Applebee, the Warriors’ setter) to set the outside or weak side.”
Applebee, caught between being a good teammate and a coach she’d rather not make unhappy, opts to send the ball Thomas’ way more often than not.
“She makes it really easy (on the setter), actually,” Applebee said. “It can be a not so great set and she still hits it over. Fowler wants me to set her as much as possible. (Katie) tells me to go to the outside, but I set her as much as possible.
“She’s probably our best hitter. She can definitely hit it. She plays smart and knows when to hit it or tip it. She’s a really good player.”
With a coach and a setter conspiring against her, Thomas is fighting a losing battle. The ball will continue coming her way, shining the spotlight in her direction.
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula. Reach him at bettinger@starbeacon.com.
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