Some of the women coached by Linda Sheridan at Shadle Park High School have become coaches, businesswomen and community leaders. Four of them share here the lessons in leadership they use today that they learned from Sheridan years ago.

– “Linda taught me that everyone has a role. As a junior, I became a leader on the bench. I became the bench queen. We had such teamwork on the bench in a supporting role. I learned that the support part was as important as the floor part. It has totally shaped how I am a manager. Sometimes it’s more important to be the supporter than the leader.”

Kirstin Votava, communications professional; played volleyball from 1986 through 1988.

– “She just said, ‘Look, life brings its challenges. It’s about the journey, not the destination. Keep the faith when it gets rough.’ Be positive, be confident, keep yourself strong: That was her mantra. She’s the reason I’m in coaching.”

Judy Kight, head volleyball coach at Mead High School; played volleyball and basketball from 1977 through 1979.

– “She cared about all of us as individuals, but she made it clear it was never about you. She’d ask: ‘Why are you doing things? Is it for your benefit? Or for the team’s benefit?’ You make people feel like they are the important piece, and they are important, but the ultimate reason that they are playing is for everybody else. A great leader gets followed because there’s a greater good out there.”

Julie Yearout, head volleyball coach at Lewis and Clark High School; played volleyball from 1980 through 1982.

– “When I first started playing at Shadle, we had one set of butt-ugly uniforms for all the girls’ sports. Title IX funding was just trickling down. We could have bitched about it. But Linda told us: ‘There are no second-class citizens in my gym.’ At a time when a lot of people were belittling girls’ sports, there was this message of ‘You are important, your team is important, and together you can be important.’ Out of that culture of respect, she made us feel that what we were doing was so important.”

Stacey Ward, head volleyball coach at Ferris; played volleyball from 1976 through 1978.