JADE'S STORY

EARLY LIFE

FOUNDATIONS THAT SHAPED THE STANDARD

I grew up in Santa Claus, Indiana — a small rural town built on hard work, discipline, and sports. My dad owned a feed mill, and from the time I was young, I watched him work through heat, cold, rain, snow, exhaustion, and injury without ever complaining. He lifted fifty‑ to eighty‑pound bags of feed all day, six days a week, and never took a sick day. That was my first example of what it meant to outwork everyone.

As a kid, I learned that nothing is given and you are not entitled to anything. If you want something, you earn it. My dad didn’t teach this through lectures — he taught it through how he lived. When I worked with him at the mill or helped around the house, he would give me a list of tasks. If I couldn’t hear him clearly and asked him to repeat it, I could see the frustration in his face. I never wanted to disappoint him, so I started doing every task I thought he might have said — all of them, as fast and as well as I could. Eventually, I stopped waiting to be told what needed to be done. I learned to see it, own it, and do it. That was the beginning of my standard.

ATHLETIC JOURNEY

THE ROAD THAT TESTED AND REFINED ME

Sports were a constant in my life. I played softball, ran track, tried basketball, did gymnastics, cheered, played volleyball, and even loved playing football with the boys at recess. Volleyball and gymnastics became my main sports, but my path wasn’t easy. In seventh grade, I was on the B team in volleyball — twelve years old, barely playing, and nowhere near the best. But I wanted to be.

Everything changed when I joined KIVA at sixteen. It was the best club in the region, and I knew I was finally getting the level of coaching and expectation I needed. I wasn’t intimidated by the talent around me — I was motivated by it. I put my ego aside, stayed coachable, and committed to becoming the hardest worker in the room.

My goal was simple: be the best at everything. Run faster, jump higher, hit harder, work longer. I trained when I was tired, sick, or overwhelmed. I sacrificed time with friends, but it never felt like a sacrifice — I loved every minute of it. That experience taught me that excellence isn’t about talent. If you do the work, stay disciplined, and remain coachable, the results will follow.

LESSONS LEARNED

THE LESSONS THAT SHAPED MY LIFE

Sports taught me discipline, resilience, and how to show up for something bigger than myself. Team sports demand character — how you communicate, how you respond to adversity, how you support others, and how you hold yourself accountable. Those lessons shaped the person I became as a coach, leader, and mom.

I believe kids need someone to teach them these principles early, so they can build habits that carry into adulthood. They need standards that help them rise through setbacks, not crumble under them. They need to learn that effort matters more than praise, and that rewarding the wrong behaviors only weakens their future. We must stop celebrating the bare minimum and start developing character that prepares them for real life.

The standard I live by today is the same one I teach: finding joy in the journey, embracing adversity as a source of strength, choosing discipline as a path to freedom, and pursuing excellence through effort — these principles shape who I am.