Closing of a chapter

Lake City High volleyball coach Bret Taylor has coached all kinds of athletes over the last 30 years.

High school — yep, he’s done that.

College — he’s done that at North Idaho College as well.

When the current season ends, he’ll go from coach to something even more familiar to senior outside hitter Natalie Taylor.

Grandpa.

“It’s definitely different,” said Natalie, who has played on the varsity for the past three years with Bret as coach. “Not everyone gets a chance to experience that. I like it most of the time.”

Bret, 55, has also coached Natalie, the oldest daughter of Bret’s daughter Terra Taylor, in club volleyball in recent years.

“It’s an extreme privilege to have a chance to help her, guide her, and teach her a little bit about life through the sport,” Bret said. “It’s very enjoyable for me.”

Even if the match doesn’t go well, it doesn’t take long for either to talk through it.

“There’s always hard times in it because things are going to happen,” Bret said. “But you’ve got to work through it, and in general, it’s been totally enjoyable.”

“We’ve gotten upset after matches, but snap our fingers and it’s all OK,” Natalie said. “We know it’s better not to be angry with each other and it’s good for us to be successful on the court.”

Sometimes, that leaves Natalie to answer questions from teammates on what to expect on the court.

“My closest friend Alisa (Ricciardi), who is the team’s libero, usually wants information because she wants to be a better player,” Natalie said. “And I’ll say, ‘here’s what I think he’d want.’ I kind of know him and what he wants, so I’ll tell her I think he wants this better or that better and trying to help with that.”

In an effort not to play favorites, sometimes Bret will get after Natalie on the court a little more than others.

“I’m probably a little harder on her than the rest because I don’t ever want to have anyone think that I favor her,” Bret said. “I know her abilities, and how far I can push her. I really don’t say a whole lot different to her, but if I see she needs to change some things, I can put pressure on her to change and it doesn’t affect our relationship. At the end of the day, she’s still my granddaughter and I’m her grandpa.”

“He really drives me to get better,” Natalie said. “He’ll tell me ‘good game’ after a match, but then tell me ‘you can do this, or this better.’ I really appreciate that because I always want to get better and not settle.”

Natalie has also qualified for the state 5A track meet all three years at Lake City in the 300-meter hurdles.

“She’s a competitive person,” Bret said. “She’s quiet, but she’s a very competitive and driven person.”

Even at family dinners, volleyball — no matter how hard either might try not to bring it up — eventually comes up.

“I’d like to think I can fight that urge off,” said Bret, who is also an owner in Namaste Foods, which contains gluten and allergen-free products. “We own a business as well, and as much as my wife and I talk about the business when we don’t want to talk about it, we do it. It’s the same way with Natalie. It’s what we’ve shared and what we’ve got in common and being a family. It’s been a big part of my life for 30 years and her life for 8 to 10 years, and so it’s something that we share that common interest.”

And that’s perfectly fine with Natalie.

“We talk a lot of volleyball,” Natalie said. “We almost can’t help it at some times. We just like to go back to that topic a lot.”

Lake City (8-5) returns to 5A Inland Empire League play tonight at Post Falls. Both are seeking their first league win of the season.

“We’ve learned a lot throughout the season,” Natalie said. “We’re all striving for the same thing. When we’re working together, we’re more successful. We’ve all got to be on the same page. When we do that, we’re great and beyond great. And I’m excited for the rest of the season.”

“The kids have stepped up and worked hard,” said Bret, who has coached previously at NIC, College of Southern Idaho, Gonzaga and Coeur d’Alene High. “We’ve pushed and been competitive with teams, and I really think the best is yet to come. I know there’s a month left, but I’ve seen vast improvement and that comes from kids that are willing to commit themselves to the program and others, and that’s pretty cool to see.”

Natalie’s future plans include going to college to study psychology, and maybe even playing volleyball.

“I’m interested in psychology, especially sports psychology,” Natalie said. “I think it would be really cool to work with athletes on their mental game and achieving greatness. Playing at the next level is the dream right now.”

Wherever she winds up, she’s earned it.

“She’s worked hard for it,” Bret said. “I’d like to think that I’ve had some influence, but it’s all her. She has that drive in her and wants to be a great volleyball player, so I think she deserves what she gets out of the sport. She’s put in her time and gotten the most out of it.”

That includes the classroom as well.

“She’s a good human being,” Bret said. “She, to me, is coachable, respectful, good values, opinions, just works hard and I admire that about her. I’m biased, but that’s what my granddaughter is to me, and I’m going to miss that. I’m going to miss seeing her every day in the fall. She’s going to be off to college next fall, and I’m going to have to come up with some ways to go see her and watch her play and just visit her.”

Natalie added that watching her grandpa coach through the years might have inspired her to get into coaching as well, when the time is right.

“He’s showed me how hard it is to be a good coach,” Natalie said. “I’ve learned a lot from watching him coach and be successful at NIC. He was really successful there, and it was cool to see how he was. I don’t know that I want to do that right away, but maybe somewhere down the road.”

Even though she’s had other coaches during club season, Natalie said she’ll miss that familiar face on the bench.

“It will be different not to be with him at all,” Natalie said. “Because he’ll just be my grandpa then and not my coach anymore.”

“It is kind of like a closing of a chapter, but there’s many other opportunities to go see her play,” Bret said. “I don’t need to coach her anymore. After this year, she can move on to a different chapter in her volleyball life and I can go to being a spectator, and a grandpa.”