CELEBRATE — Anna Schlaak, second from left in the back, celebrates yet another national championship for the Concordia College volleyball team. Schlaak is a 2012 graduate of NRHEG High School. (Submitted photo)
By MARK DOMEIER
Contributing Writer
Volleyball used to be a sport confined to the late summer and fall time period. However, as it has grown in the last couple of decades, so too has the time commitment it takes to play at a high level. Anna Schlaak of New Richland discovered this at an early age, and it has led her to a college experience unlike what most kids know.
Anna, the daughter of Neil and Jill Schlaak, recently finished her third year at Concordia College in St. Paul as a member of the volleyball team. According to her mom, Anna started playing club volleyball at the age of 13 in Mankato. She continued to progress at a rapid rate and moved up to more competitive squads, including the Northern Lights team out of Burnsville.
Anna was a great athlete while at NRHEG, but always placed volleyball at the top of her love of sports. At first she thought she wanted to play college volleyball out of state at a large school. However, she realized that would take her farther away from her family, and she knew she’d miss too many activities that were important to her.
The recruitment process was helped by knowing the Concordia coach, Brady Starky, through the club volleyball programs she’d been part of, and Concordia is considered one of the volleyball powers in Division II, having won seven straight NCAA titles between 2007-2013, the first volleyball team to do that at any level of NCAA competition.Concordia seemed to fit for Anna, being close to home and a smaller school, with an enrollment around 3,000 students. She initially had plans to study pharmacy, but after working for Monsanto in Owatonna the last couple of summers, she is considering a change to something in agriculture, though still with her biology major.
The workload in college is tremendous, according to Anna.
“Some nights can get late with the homework and volleyball combination,” she said. “But the professors are very understanding when we leave early for a long trip.”
It wasn’t always an easy transition on the volleyball court either. Anna red-shirted her freshman year and, “She had to adjust to different philosophy, different players, and (a) different style of playing,” according to Jill. She played a little more the next year and finally entered the starting lineup her junior year, after making adjustments to her game.
In talking to Anna’s coach, he assessed her progress this way: “Anna has progressed from being a very strong hitter coming out of high school to a great six rotation outside hitter that is just as strong in the back row as she is in the front row. She carries a heavy load of having to be one of our primary passers and help control our back court as well as be one of our go-to hitters in the front row. Anna has also worked her way into a leadership role for our team and someone that our team relies on to keep our team relaxed and having fun on the court.”
Starky said that Anna was quiet when she arrived at Concordia, but has really moved to that leadership role. The Golden Bears are excited to have her two more years, and Coach Starky said that after the dominant spring she’s had, he’s looking ahead to big things in her game this fall.
That year-round schedule truly applies to volleyball now. Practices start in mid-August, and the NCAA tournament doesn’t begin until the end of November. Last year was a tough year for the Golden Bears, as they saw their National Championship streak come to an end. Anna claims that has lit a fire in the team, and they are motivated to begin a new streak this season. After Christmas, the team has some workouts, following NCAA regulations, and then plays spring ball Monday-Friday. Summer brings some individual workouts and Sunday team activities.
The team spends a lot of time together outside of volleyball activities, and Anna said she’s also been able to stay in touch with many of her friends from high school, another advantage to living less than two hours away from home. In addition to the team’s goal to reclaim a national title, Anna said an individual goal is to grow more intelligent with her skills and to continue to grow into the person she aspires to be off the court.
College sports are not for everyone, but Anna seems to have made that jump well. Her commitment to volleyball over the years has paid off, and the NRHEG area can be proud of the young lady who represents our communities so well at such a respected college. Best of luck to Anna and her teammates this fall in their quest for another national title!