Comments and Testimonials: Names
have been taken out and some sentences paraphrased to ensure
confidentiality (except for those that expressly granted
permission to use their names)
last updated
06-10-08
I feel very blessed to have met such a
dedicated, yet compassionate individual that truly has the
girl's best interest at heart. So many clubs seem to be very
harsh and money hungry.
What a wonderful end of season
celebration – very well done. It is easy to see that your club
is growing steadily and more important healthily (if that is a
real word). You have a lot of respect amongst the parents,
players and coaches and this in turn creates club loyalty – a
gift that money cannot buy.
There are so many
girls out there looking for a good club with coaches who
actually enjoy what they are doing and care about their players.
I am so glad we found Kaboom or actually you found us – my
daughter has enjoyed playing for you. After listening to some
moms whose daughters are miserable where they are I know a lot
of them will be coming to you.
I am so glad my friend brought her
daughter to lessons and the camps – I knew as soon as they saw
how you ran your club they would hop over there next year – she
is very impressed with the lessons they were given. You
run a first class operation and it is fun to tell people about
it and have them see first hand what they are missing at other
clubs.
Sign hung in my office from
Sierra...Hey Coach Shafonia. I know you deserve so much
more. Well, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate
you. You do more than enough for me and the club.
Thanks for encouraging me and motivating me to become a better
player. I must say you have help me build my confidence.
There's not another club I would even think of playing with.
If I made a list of all the things you do for us, it would never
end.
I feel very blessed to have met such a dedicated, yet
compassionate individual that truly has the girl's best interest
at heart. So many clubs seem to be very harsh and money hungry.
If you
ever did decide that parenting is a consideration, you would
make such a supportive, caring, loving and intelligent
mother...but no matter, our girls our blessed having you, with
all your skills, in their lives just as I am...
Hey Coach,
Thank you so much for the card. That was really sweet. I
cant even explain how much it means to me:) It puts back alot
confidence that i forgot i had. And i also want to tell you that
i am super excited about playing outside, rightside, and
back-row (i forgot how much fun it was in the back, i just have
to get alot of practice in it.lol.
I'm also excited about the road trip to Vernon. It's going
to be lots of fun. I did email the coach saying how excited i
was to come visit and that i am very interested. She seems very
nice an excited to see us too.
Well thank you again for the card, i loved it and it meant
the world to me:)
I just wanted to thank
you again for taking the girls to Vernon College this past
weekend. They had a great time and really liked the school.
You're the best!!
I admire you for taking the time to continually work for
your girls. I don't know of anyone who goes so far as you to
make things happen for her girls. Your whole weekend,
expenses, and the wear and tear on your car! It does not go
unnoticed. You will be rewarded. You probably feel you are
already.
You really do go
above and beyond what most coaches would do.
You are such a great role model to them, I know they respect you
immensely as do I.
You help so many many more girls than
you will ever know...you have saved girls from not attending
college or learning how to truly commit...a true life lesson
that will get them through some really tough times one day...do
not forget the names and faces of the girls you know yourself
how you have touched their life and times that by 10 or 20 or 30
for the many that you will never know what a difference you have
made...in my daughter's life...you took a girl that had been
defeated in Clubs for 2 years and made her feel she has so much
to offer to a team...the day you used her as the example for the
libero was the day you returned her to full dignity...thank you.
Thanks for all your help and
spending the time to talk to her. You are definitely a role
model and they really look up to you.
I just had to write and sing Joe's praises. When I picked my
daughter's carpool up last Thursday - she just went on and on
about Joe. How he helped her perfect her serve, how he stuck
with her and was such an encourager. It was just what she
needed. She was even amazed that he put her back in when the
coach had taken her out. She repeated the same details to
everyone and called her dad in California the very same night to
tell him. I can't thank him enough for helping her.
You are the very very very very best. So proud of what
you are creating.
Thanks again for your decision on changing
the girls to the select division. It was a wonderful boost
to their confidence to win this weekend. Thanks for ALL you
do for the club!
I applaud you and the work
you are doing at Kaboom. I also applaud you for standing up to
your word regardless of the cost.
It was because of your attitude about winning (not sacrificing
values for winning) that sold me and my wife on Club Kaboom.
Dear
Shafonia: I am so proud of you!!! There are so many times when
doing the right thing may seem hard but your integrity is at
stake. You were very clear from the beginning about your zero
tolerance policy for disrespect so there is no excuse for that
sort of behavior. It is one of the things that I admire most
about you...you have integrity. You are setting a good example
and for that you are to be commended. I'm sorry that you
had to do it but you did the right thing.
I just
wanted to thank you for always being a great example for our
girls. I only wish my daughter had more role models like you
and your organization.
I
applaud your ethics and morals and the lessons you are
instilling in our daughters. These are the same behaviors I
teach at home and I am pleased that I will not have to
'fight' contradictory lessons that kids often pick up when
they are part of teams or classes that do not hold
themselves to such standards.
Thanks
for your email and the strong standards you set. We have been
very happy with the high level of expectations set at Club
Kaboom and the way the club is run.
Keep
up the great job! We are very happy to be a part
of the Kaboom Family!
Thank
you Shafonia! What a special person you are!!! I
am so glad that our daughter will be in such a special place
during our crazy time in our lives!
We
just really think Kaboom is a quality club with good teaching
and morals so it based on that why everyone wants to come!
I
would just like to say that I'm really glad we got our
equipment on Sunday, before all the other clubs, because there
was a crazy sock day at our school and I wore my Kaboom socks.
I was the only person out of my friends that were doing club
that already got her stuff. Also, there was a "favorite
sports team" day and I wore my Kaboom shirt. Thanks for
being such a great coach!
You
are amazing! Thanks for caring so deeply about our kids.
I
just wanted to say that I am impressed with the scheduling and
the drills used in the practice Tuesday as well as the effort
of all of the girls. I watched all of the practices at
our last club and I never saw that much effort even at the top
team's practices.
You
go the extra mile for the girls and it speaks volumes for your
organization.
Thanks
again for everything that you have done for me. It's
amazing how much you care about making sure your club is run
right and how you take care of all of us. I never in 2
years (at another club) felt as comfortable and at home as I
have in the 2 months that I've been at Kaboom. That is a true
accomplishment.
Thanks
for the kind words about the girls. I have to say that
you are one of the main reasons why I am glad that my daughter
decided to enlist with your club. Your positive attitude
and personality are something that I think that she could
learn a lot from. Thanks for being so special!
My
daughter is very happy with the team you placed her on!!! I
think it's a good match too. We love being a part of the
Kaboom family. We were remembering where she was in her skill
level just one year ago and we were astounded. It is amazing
what she learned in her first ever year of club
volleyball. What a testimony for your program and
your wonderful coaches.
We just wanted to
say thank you for letting our daughter participate in
today's session for school tryouts. It
was both an eye opener for her and a positive experience for
us as well. Having played at a different club last
year we were hoping to speak with some other parents
who had experienced your club. We
were able to speak with several parents who answered
all our questions and concerns, as well as put our minds at
ease about switching clubs. I am
very impressed with the level of commitment from both your
coaches as well as the players.
I
kept trying to say hello but you were swamped. Just
wanted to say that with every single thing you have done you
have impressed me more...the straight talk to the girls
about behavior, for themselves, their team and the club; the
pointed remarks to us parents on appropriate behavior during
the games...the fact that life is not fair and we will get
bad refs, great reminders for those, namely me, that
sometimes get too caught up and need reminders of the
"right" parent behavior: the unbelievable price
you have with inclusive price of practice uniforms and full
uniforms (shoes and kneepads, socks too) for less than
$2000.00, and my favorite, the fact that you will not put up
with disrespect to not only the coach but of girls to their own
parents. Bravo!
You
are almost $1000.00 cheaper than what we paid to our Club
last year and you offer one million more in what we get for
our money: your coaches' abilities, your expectations, your
training, your "report card" on improvement, your
inclusion of price with uniforms and shoes and,
not least, the role model of yourself, a director that not
only talks the talk but demonstrates skills herself and
coaches! Yes, I am very very happy that we found you! Just
wanted to say good job and thank you.
My
daughter may play high
school basketball this year and is taking a tough academic
schedule this year so she doesn't want to play club
volleyball. I would love for her to play for your club but
it has to be her decision not mine! Your coaches did wonders
for her self esteem and were an answer to my prayers. Thank
you for working with my daughter last year. I admire your
efforts to provide opportunities for girls like her to play
club volleyball.
I
wanted to thank you for the experience we had at Kaboom this
year. My daughter has worked so hard this summer on her
volleyball skills at home and at school. I really believe it
is because how you and Joe expected the best out of each
player.
You
believed in me when I thought no one else would, and you saw
talent in me that I didn't even see. You are a really great
coach and mentor, and an even better friend. I believe that
God sent you to me to show me that others do believe in me
when I don't believe in myself. I wanted to thank you for
that. I will really miss you.
Congratulations
on your first camp! Wow! The opportunity for all of the girls
to get expert advice from so many positive, caring, and
knowledgeable coaches really sets your club apart from others.
Each coach has something useful to offer. With so many years
of playing and so many coaches they have come across, the
girls mentioned how much they are learning about how to
perfect their playing.
Hey
Shafonia. I just wanted to let you know how much your
club and your coaching has helped me!! I loved club kaboom!
There was always a positive attitude! I loved how you would
believe in every one of your players and you would push us to
do our best but you would be our rock that was always there
that we could lean on when we needed some coaching!! Playing
volleyball at your club was one of my smartest decisions i
have made! Thank you so much for everything that you have done
for me and taught me! Cant wait to see you at the try-out
camp!!
We
are glad to see that you added a 3rd 15’s team
– we referred several girls to your club and some of them
showed up at the camp last week. Several parents talked to me
this past weekend and told me how impressed they are with your
productive work outs, your positive approach with the girls,
your knowledge, caring, and approachability – all of the
things we were blessed to be a part of all summer long.
I
want to thank you for your time and consideration. The camp
was intense, and informative. I feel your organization will
soon be the top ranked club in the city.
It
was really nice talking with you the other evening. There is a
feeling of family and genuine care for the girls. It is not
something you can really explain in words, but just a feeling
you get.
Thanks
for everything you do. I was so impressed by the amount
of girls you now have. You deserve it, you do so
much for not only the girls but the parents.
Another
amazing letter from one of my girls
(be warned this one produced lots and lots of tears for me)
Thank
you for a great clinic! I'm sorry we didn't hear about your
club earlier in the summer so we could of taken advantage of
all your skill clinics. My daughter was loving the work-out of
drills and your coaching staff really gave her direction.
(Something she hasn't had much of.) Looking forward to the
warm-up on the 28th and try-outs on the 29th.
Thank
you once again for your dedication to these girls. Your
passion is obvious.
Thank
you, Shafonia for thinking about us and sending the email.
And Thank
you again for a fantastic summer volleyball experience. We
feel so blessed to have had you for a coach, mentor, trainer,
etc and for really taking a personal interest in the girls. It
is so refreshing!
I
wanted to let you know that your name was mentioned in many
positive ways this evening by our teammate, and her mother.
They
were telling us how much she thought of you and your Club!
To add to those positive comments, another mom and I could
not get over how quickly and kindly you answered our
emails! We have been with a large club team for 2
years and have never gotten an email
answered in less than a week to 2 weeks( and sometimes no
answer at all)...you are an amazing
goodwill ambassador to this game...and that is music to
all our ears.
Letter
from Grace Fletcher
Just
in case no one has told you lately...thank you for all the
hard work you have done to make Club Kaboom the
wonderful club that it is. I appreciate you
very
much and I couldn't be happier with where God
has placed us!!!
She
has learned more in the few practices and games we have had
with this summer league than she did all last season.
She was very discouraged about volleyball after last season
and that feeling has disappeared! She is very much looking
forward to the camp this weekend – I know she will enjoy
it.
Thanks!!
I have really enjoyed being on your team this year. Even
though it was a lot of hard work, it was always so much fun.
Thanks for being such a great coach. See you at practice.
I
was just talking to my husband about Club Kaboom and I decided
to write you about some of my thoughts. First of all, I wanted
to thank you for how quickly you respond to my emails. It
makes me feel like I'm not just one of many but that you take
a personal interest in my questions and concerns. Also, when I
was looking at tournament information on some of the other
volleyball websites, I noticed all the state of the art
facilities and I was thinking about where Club Kaboom
practices. Quite honestly, I like our facility better...it's
more down to earth.
One
of the other things I mentioned was that this is only
Club Kaboom’s second year and so we are not as well
established as some of the other teams. But this is true,
Shafonia...I believe
in you!!! I know I don't know you that well
but every encounter I have had with you has been positive. It
is with great joy that we will be participating in Club Kaboom
this year.
Just
remember that you do make a difference in the girls’ lives.
I know this because you made a big difference in my
daughter’s life and she wants to be just like you and make a
difference in the lives of the kids she will be teaching one
day.
We
appreciate your personal interest and support! It is really
unbelievable to us sometimes.
Things
do seem to be looking a lot better today and she seems much
better---Thank Goodness!!!
Your help was invaluable is getting through to her, you
were truly my last resort and I am ecstatic that you got
through! She
really does think the world of you and I am so glad you are
there, blunt answers and all.
I
just wanted to say thank you for working with the team and
helping to get them ready for summer league. I know my
daughter learned quite a bit at each practice she
attended. I really like your coaching style and I think she
does too. She didn't get much, if any, technical coaching
last year elsewhere. I
will definitely be sending her to your summer camps.
A
big thank you for this past weekend.
My daughter walked away feeling so good about her
skills. After the
club season was over with in May, she had very little
confidence in herself and her volleyball skills. It was very
disappointing to watch.
After we left Sunday, she said she feels like she has a
chance to make her freshman team now.
She also said Kaboom was the type of club team she was
hoping to have played on this past year. |
