34°VOLLEYBALL: Family matters: Livengood may finally see daughter play at state
11:13 PM
Nov 11
2009
Nov 11
2009
For the past four years, St. Paul senior Hannah Livengood has instinctively known many times during matches when she looks over her shoulder, he won’t be there.
And that hasn’t gotten any easier over time.
“It’s really hard, and it’s definitely in the back of my mind that he’s not there,” Livengood said. “But it motivates me to push even harder and make him proud that he’s not there.”
At 4 p.m. today, Livengood will play in her third state tournament match at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at Wright State University, but it will also be the third time her father — St. Paul football coach John Livengood — will not see her play on Ohio’s biggest volleyball stage.
While admitting several times it’s difficult to miss a good portion of his eldest daughter and now youngest daughter — freshman varsity player Oliva — play volleyball, the coach and his family have found ways to make the best of being a victim of their own successes.
The first time the situation arose of the football team advancing to the second round of the playoffs and the volleyball team qualifying for the state tournament was in 2004. Then it happened again in 2005.
That trend continued in 2006, but Hannah was just a freshman dressing varsity and did not see the floor when the Lady Flyers beat New Knoxville for the state title. John Livengood was at the match and saw his daughter receive a medal because the football team playing and winning the night before.
But he never saw her play.
Two years ago brought a gut-check time to the family. The volleyball team had again made state and was set to play at 6 p.m. Thursday and, with a win, 6 p.m. Saturday. The football team had a Saturday game at Medina vs. Warren John F. Kennedy.
After Thursday’s practice, John Livengood sat in his living room at home by himself attempting to listen to the volleyball match on the radio while Hannah had a key serving run during a three-game sweep of Jackson Center to advance to another state title match.
“It was hard to sit through,” he said. “And then radio cut out, which made it even harder.”
Two days later, as Hannah was more than three hours away and playing for a state championship, John was getting ready to coach the football team to a 26-7 victory against JFK and a fourth straight regional final appearance.
“Parents can relate to this, but when one of your children has the opportunity to participate in a state championship in any sport … that’s something you want to be part of,” John Livengood said. “It was tough to miss out on that. Coaching against JFK was hard because my mind and focus was on the football game, but I was thinking a lot about the volleyball team and what was going on there. It was divided attention.”
During the regular season, John can attend most home volleyball matches, but when factoring in his duties as athletic director and the football team playing most of its games on Saturdays, almost all tournament games are out of the question.
“Being able to watch my girls has been extremely difficult because being the head coach, you can’t just show up at the last second for things,” he said. “There are a lot of things you have to take into account in terms of preparation, showing up at the locker room, getting equipment ready … it’s one of those things you just can’t take for granted.”
In fact, during the fall Hannah and Olivia — along with John’s wife, Natalie — hardly see him at all away from school. Sophomore son, C.J., is a member of the football team.
“He leaves the house at 7 a.m. and doesn’t get home until 10 p.m.,” Hannah said of her father. “We don’t eat dinner as a family, and I only talk to him because I’m in his office for study hall. That’s usually when I can talk volleyball with him on downtime.”
With the success of the volleyball program well established in the four years before Hannah reached high school and the football team a yearly playoff contender for 15 straight years, this wasn’t an unexpected forecast the Livengoods ran into.
“We knew going into this when they got to the high school level and with me coaching,” John Livengood said. “We sat down as a family and discussed me making decisions year-to-year if I want to coach or not because I’m missing out on my family activities.
“The other side of that was, we might not be in the playoffs or playing for a state championship in volleyball. So I guess we’d rather deal with the dilemma of this situation than the alternative. It’s a great problem to have. It’s just one of those things, but we’ve been able to manage it. It’s all worth it.”
Knowing there was a strong chance of another state appearance for the Lady Flyers, John Livengood took the proactive approach. He sent an e-mail to Hank Zaborniak of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, petitioning for the football team’s second-round matchup with Mogadore to be moved to Friday to allow the football team and families to attend Saturday’s state championship volleyball match — should the Lady Flyers win today.
“Initially they balked, but then said if both schools agreed to it they would be more than willing to look into it,” John Livengood said. “Fortunately, the people at Mogadore were very understanding and classy right away and were completely for it.
“I’m real appreciative of them giving our fans the opportunities to be a part of both atmospheres and from a personal standpoint to give me the chance to watch my daughters play in a state championship, if they win Thursday.”
Hannah is hoping for a win today for family reasons and so many of the football players can also attend to give the Lady Flyers a bigger student section. Being a small school, 58 of the 97 boys at St. Paul are on the football team.
“It definitely brings a bigger atmosphere and helps you play a little better when you have a bigger crowd to play in front of,” she said. “We play fine not having them there, but it’s quiet although we have strong parents who lead the way and some dedicated fans. We’ve stuck it through before, but I’m excited they could be there Saturday if we win.”
Hannah talked about having her little sister on the varsity with her during her final season.
“We didn’t get along at the beginning, but volleyball has made our connection and bond stronger,” she said. “It made us work together. Having her there is awesome, and it’s making me want it more for her, too.
“I want her to feel the same thing I felt my freshman year when we won state.”
While admitting it’s in the back of her mind, Hannah said her sole focus is only on winning today’s match.
“I’m not using it as a nervous kind of thing that I have to win,” she said. “I’m using it as adrenaline and inspiration, you could say. It will be a pretty long and crazy weekend if both teams keep winning.”
And if they do, her father will get to see her play.
And that hasn’t gotten any easier over time.
“It’s really hard, and it’s definitely in the back of my mind that he’s not there,” Livengood said. “But it motivates me to push even harder and make him proud that he’s not there.”
At 4 p.m. today, Livengood will play in her third state tournament match at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at Wright State University, but it will also be the third time her father — St. Paul football coach John Livengood — will not see her play on Ohio’s biggest volleyball stage.
While admitting several times it’s difficult to miss a good portion of his eldest daughter and now youngest daughter — freshman varsity player Oliva — play volleyball, the coach and his family have found ways to make the best of being a victim of their own successes.
A helpless feeling
The first time the situation arose of the football team advancing to the second round of the playoffs and the volleyball team qualifying for the state tournament was in 2004. Then it happened again in 2005.
That trend continued in 2006, but Hannah was just a freshman dressing varsity and did not see the floor when the Lady Flyers beat New Knoxville for the state title. John Livengood was at the match and saw his daughter receive a medal because the football team playing and winning the night before.
But he never saw her play.
Two years ago brought a gut-check time to the family. The volleyball team had again made state and was set to play at 6 p.m. Thursday and, with a win, 6 p.m. Saturday. The football team had a Saturday game at Medina vs. Warren John F. Kennedy.
After Thursday’s practice, John Livengood sat in his living room at home by himself attempting to listen to the volleyball match on the radio while Hannah had a key serving run during a three-game sweep of Jackson Center to advance to another state title match.
“It was hard to sit through,” he said. “And then radio cut out, which made it even harder.”
Two days later, as Hannah was more than three hours away and playing for a state championship, John was getting ready to coach the football team to a 26-7 victory against JFK and a fourth straight regional final appearance.
“Parents can relate to this, but when one of your children has the opportunity to participate in a state championship in any sport … that’s something you want to be part of,” John Livengood said. “It was tough to miss out on that. Coaching against JFK was hard because my mind and focus was on the football game, but I was thinking a lot about the volleyball team and what was going on there. It was divided attention.”
During the regular season, John can attend most home volleyball matches, but when factoring in his duties as athletic director and the football team playing most of its games on Saturdays, almost all tournament games are out of the question.
“Being able to watch my girls has been extremely difficult because being the head coach, you can’t just show up at the last second for things,” he said. “There are a lot of things you have to take into account in terms of preparation, showing up at the locker room, getting equipment ready … it’s one of those things you just can’t take for granted.”
In fact, during the fall Hannah and Olivia — along with John’s wife, Natalie — hardly see him at all away from school. Sophomore son, C.J., is a member of the football team.
“He leaves the house at 7 a.m. and doesn’t get home until 10 p.m.,” Hannah said of her father. “We don’t eat dinner as a family, and I only talk to him because I’m in his office for study hall. That’s usually when I can talk volleyball with him on downtime.”
With the success of the volleyball program well established in the four years before Hannah reached high school and the football team a yearly playoff contender for 15 straight years, this wasn’t an unexpected forecast the Livengoods ran into.
“We knew going into this when they got to the high school level and with me coaching,” John Livengood said. “We sat down as a family and discussed me making decisions year-to-year if I want to coach or not because I’m missing out on my family activities.
“The other side of that was, we might not be in the playoffs or playing for a state championship in volleyball. So I guess we’d rather deal with the dilemma of this situation than the alternative. It’s a great problem to have. It’s just one of those things, but we’ve been able to manage it. It’s all worth it.”
Asking for a favor
Knowing there was a strong chance of another state appearance for the Lady Flyers, John Livengood took the proactive approach. He sent an e-mail to Hank Zaborniak of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, petitioning for the football team’s second-round matchup with Mogadore to be moved to Friday to allow the football team and families to attend Saturday’s state championship volleyball match — should the Lady Flyers win today.
“Initially they balked, but then said if both schools agreed to it they would be more than willing to look into it,” John Livengood said. “Fortunately, the people at Mogadore were very understanding and classy right away and were completely for it.
“I’m real appreciative of them giving our fans the opportunities to be a part of both atmospheres and from a personal standpoint to give me the chance to watch my daughters play in a state championship, if they win Thursday.”
Hannah is hoping for a win today for family reasons and so many of the football players can also attend to give the Lady Flyers a bigger student section. Being a small school, 58 of the 97 boys at St. Paul are on the football team.
“It definitely brings a bigger atmosphere and helps you play a little better when you have a bigger crowd to play in front of,” she said. “We play fine not having them there, but it’s quiet although we have strong parents who lead the way and some dedicated fans. We’ve stuck it through before, but I’m excited they could be there Saturday if we win.”
Hannah talked about having her little sister on the varsity with her during her final season.
“We didn’t get along at the beginning, but volleyball has made our connection and bond stronger,” she said. “It made us work together. Having her there is awesome, and it’s making me want it more for her, too.
“I want her to feel the same thing I felt my freshman year when we won state.”
While admitting it’s in the back of her mind, Hannah said her sole focus is only on winning today’s match.
“I’m not using it as a nervous kind of thing that I have to win,” she said. “I’m using it as adrenaline and inspiration, you could say. It will be a pretty long and crazy weekend if both teams keep winning.”
And if they do, her father will get to see her play.
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