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TROY (Ohio) DAILY NEWS: "Home Cookin' ~ Volleyball team finishes season 16-0"

[Below is an article from the Troy Daily News (Miami Co. Ohio) ~ Nov. 6, 2007 ~ about our fabulous Golden Angels homeschool volleyball team!  Corrections and edits in red.]

Article by Henry S. Conte ~ Sports Editor/Troy Daily News

While the Tippecanoe volleyball team has been making all the headlines locally, there have been other volleyball teams in the area that have been making noise nationally. 

Only, these kids names you probably haven't heard before. 

Kelsey Hofer of Tipp City, Bethany Wagar of Troy and Carmen Hamlett of Union played on a homeschool volleyball team that went to a 40-team national championship tournament in Omaha, Nebraska recently and finished eighth overall to cap a 16-0 regular season -- its third straight undefeated regular season.  Jenna Wolf of West Milton [and Anna Sprinkle of Brookville] plays on the JV team.

"We were 4-2 in the national tournament," coach Christy Robinson siad.  Robinson, in her first year as head coach [actually, it's her 2nd year as head coach] of the Dayton Golden Angels has been involved with the program for a few years.

"All these girls are socialized," Robinson said.  [You must know that this comment came after he asked Christy if the girls even know how to talk to each other when they first get together to start playing!  OH MY!  There's that socialization thing, again.] "They meet through homeschool fairs.  Some of them are part of co-ops (where groups get together and each parent teaches a separate subject).  Homeschooling is a lot more vast than you might expect."

The Golden Angels were the only Ohio team in the tournament while five of the 40 schools [teams] were from Texas.  But at 16-0, you might ask who this teaam plays.

"Earlier this season we scrimmaged Troy Christian and beat them.  After the game their coach said 'thanks for the wake-up call,'" Robinson said.  "This is a team that I would put up against a lot of public schools and am confident they would come out on top.  They are very athletic.  We have a few girls that, if they worked at it, could get scholarships to smaller schools."

And if you ask anyone they have played, that isn't the only thing they have going for them.

Not only did the team finish eighth in the national tournament, but it also received the sportsmanship award -- voted on by the referees at the tournament.

"We made sure to thank the referees for taking their time to officiate the game and we thanked the opposing coaches.  The girls are kind and courteous and they want to be an example," Robinson said.

"We really wanted these girls to have the same benefits that public and private schools have," Kim Wolf, Miami County Homeschool Coordinator said.  "We have basketball, too.  [for the boys]  Miami County is one of the fastest growing homeschool counties in the state.

"This is a great bunch of girls and they are increadible athletes.  When people go and watch them they are stunned by their athletic ability."

But probably not that stunned by the outcome.

With a good base of education and values taught at home, the outcome will almost always be positive.

"We have refs from the local schools that love comming to our games because they love the atmosphere.  The girls are balanced with being good athletes and good people.  They are motivated and mature," said Robinson.

Always a winning combination.