KARL PEARSON
A Karl Pearson column...
If ever there was a coach whose life is woven into the fabric of Ashtabula County sports, it’s Annah Haeseler.
Her father, Mark Debevc, is probably one of the most famous athletes to walk the fields of the area as a standout in football and track at Geneva High School. Then he was one of the key members of the “Super Sophomores” who led the Ohio State football team to the national championship in 1968. He also had a brief tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals after college. In 2005, he was inducted into the Ashtabula County Football Hall of Fame.
But, as much as the family’s roots rest in those two sports, the daughters of Mark and Kathy Debevc have impacted volleyball in the county equally. Annah was the first of three Debevc sisters to put a lasting imprint on the Geneva volleyball program, being a standout player for Stan Bielech before her graduation in 1995, then continuing her playing career at Edinboro University before moving on from there in 1999.
Younger sister Livia, a 1998 Geneva graduate, was a key player for Bielech’s Eagles near the end of his career as the varsity coach. Then Annah returned to Geneva to serve as Bielech’s assistant.
After taking over as the head coach in 2003, the Debevcs made it a sister act for the Eagles as youngest sister Andrea was one of the key players for her sister for two seasons before she graduated in 2004.
Since she took over the reins of the Geneva program, Annah, who became Annah Haeseler when she married fellow Geneva graduate John Haeseler in 2001, has kept the Eagles functioning at an efficient clip, averaging just a little less than 16 wins a season. But it always seemed like someone in the county had been able to get the upper hand on the Eagles.
But there have been signs that the Eagles might be moving toward ruling the roost in the last two seasons. In 2008, they won the final Northeastern Conference volleyball title and advanced to the Division II district semifinals, even winning a game at that level against a vaunted Lake Catholic squad before succumbing.
This year, Geneva, blessed with the leadership of seven seniors, took it up another notch despite making the transition to the Premier Athletic Conference. The Eagles recorded 17 victories, finished third in the PAC behind eventual Division I regional finalist Riverside and advancing to the Division II district-championship match before falling to a Lake Catholic squad that fell just a few points short of winning the state championship.
Those accomplishments have led to Haeseler’s first selection as the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Coach of the Year. It is the first time a Geneva coach has earned the award since Bielech earned the last of six such honors in 1997.
“It’s very exciting,” she said. “It’s just one more part of what has been a very exciting year. We had a good season in our first year in the PAC and had a good tournament run.
“It brings back memories of growing up through the program with Stan. It kind of brings a flashback. (Joining Bielech) makes it extra special).”
It has been a season of accomplishment for Haeseler and her girls. One of those was earning her 100th career victory in the middle of the season. Her record now stands at 110-54 (.671 winning percentage). Her players certainly understood how important the achievement was to her.
“The girls got me a plaque for my 100th victory,” Haeseler said. “They said they hoped I got 100 more. So do I.
“I think the girls played their hardest going into the PAC. I think playing there very much prepared us for the tournament.”
None of the Geneva girls have benefited more from Haeseler’s guidance than senior outside-middle hitter Taylor Webb, who played four varsity seasons for her, culminating in Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year honors this year.
“Coach Haeseler has done a great job,” Webb said. “She’s been a wonderful mentor for me. She told me if I had dreams to go for them. She brought out the best in me.
“She got me ready for leadership. At first I was a little reluctant, but she gradually talked me into being more vocal and more assertive.”
As much as anything, Haeseler tries to be a role model for her players. She is among the growing legion of area volleyball coaches who are faced with the challenges of being a teacher, a wife and a mother.
Haeseler admits she is fortunate in having plenty of support systems in balancing the duties of a seventh-grade reading teacher with her responsibilities as a wife for the past eight years, mother to 4-year-old John Henry and 1-year-old Ella and her coaching duties. She hopes she is a role model to her players that she can be successful in all areas of her life.
“I am away from my family a lot,” she said. “There is some guilt built in. But I’m fortunate that John works second shift. I doubt I could do it without him. And I get a tremendous amount of help from my parents and my in-laws (John and Tammy).
“My kids love to be around the gym. A lot of the girls on the team have been babysitters for us, too.
“I just want to show the girls that they can still teach, coach and still have a family. I try to show them they can be successful at everything.”
The accomplishment of this year’s team made that balancing act all the more satisfying.
“I think the girls played their hardest in the PAC,” Haeseler said. “I think that very much prepared us for the tournament.
“Early on, we played Beaumont (a Division I state semifinalist) and went five games, which showed us we could play against really good teams. Going five games against St. Joseph Academy (and winning) also meant a lot. I thought the girls did a great job with the Volley for the Cure match with Madison this year, too.
“Making the district finals against Lake Catholic meant a lot. You have to remember we played three of the best teams in the state (Lake Catholic, Riverside and Beaumont) and held our own. I was proud of the girls.”
Haeseler admits she has been fortunate the past two seasons to work with veteran teams. The 2008 team had six seniors, while this year’s squad had seven, including Webb, Mary Ankrom, Stephanie Booth, Hillary Hambleton, Aimee Jones, Rachel Murray and Kristyn Pristov.
“I’ve been blessed with really good kids,” she said. “They’re good kids, good students and good people. They were good team players. I was really lucky.”
But the cupboard will not be left bare. Youngsters like junior middle hitter Ashley Meaney and sophomores Katie Beacom at outside hitter, Veronica Clutter at middle hitter and Audra Puckrin at setter learned a lot from the wars in the PAC.
“I think the PAC is good for the girls,” Haeseler said. “They learned they’re going to face a little more quickness on offense and they have to count on bringing their best game against every opponent. We probably played more five-game matches this year than we ever have.
“I think our JVs showed some good quality, too. I think we were helped on the freshmen level with the PAC. The junior high girls played in the Lake-Geauga league. I think being in the new league was an asset at all levels for us.”
But plenty of hard work will be needed to continue to be successful.
“I think we have a good program set up,” Haeseler said. “A lot of the girls are involved in (Junior Olympics). They need to stay in shape and do as much as they can in the offseason.
“I think reloading will be a good term for what we hope to do. We’ve had the opportunity to see some of the sophomores and freshmen. We especially need to find people at outside hitter and at libero. I’ll be anxious to see who steps up.”
Pearson is a sports writer for the Star Beacon. Reach him at kpearson@starbeacon.com.
