For Jordan Hostetler, a senior member of the South Lakes High girls’ volleyball team, playing on a Seahawks’ squad coached by her mother, Cheri Hostetler, is, well, pretty neat.
“For me it is real cool to have my mom as coach,” said Jordan, a senior setter/opposite hitter and a team co-captain. “She knows how I am and I know how she is. I know what she wants me to do and we don’t fight a lot. Of course, I love my mom. But I am a teenage girl.”
Coach Hostelter loves having her daughter on the varsity squad. Jordan is a key member for a South Lakes team that, going into this week, had already built a 7-3 record. That is a huge improvement from a Seahawks’ team that was 5-12 last year and 2-15 two years ago.
“It’s great,” said Cheri, of coaching her daughter. “It helps that she’s talented. It would be harder if she didn’t have good volleyball skills. She definitely holds her own on the court.”
Jordan, who did not begin playing volleyball until high school, leads South Lakes in assists (77) and aces (23). She and fellow co-captain Stephanie Heimburg, a senior middle hitter, are leaders on a team experiencing a breakthrough season. Heimburg leads the Seahawks in kills (96), solo blocks (73) and stuffs (37).
Coach Hostetler said both Heimburg and Jordan are good team leaders. Heimburg, a fourth year varsity player, often works with younger and lesser experienced players during practice. She is a natural teacher.
“Stephanie is more a coach,” said coach Hostetler. “She will see someone’s skill [level] and help them improve. She tries to pass her knowledge on to others. She coaches middle school [volleyball at Langston Hughes] in the spring.”
Jordan Hostetler, meanwhile, comes alive on the court during team matches, encouraging and directing teammates.
“Jordan is more motivational,” said Cheri, of her daughter. “She’ll say, `Let’s go, let’s run this play’ and that type of thing. Both Jordan and Stephanie would like to play in college one day.”
Jordan’s near-perfect setting has been a huge factor in the Seahawks’ ability to score points this season.
“She is serving, hitting and setting the ball better [than last year],” said Cheri.
Jordan, who plays during the offseason for the under-17 team within the Northern Virginia Volleyball Association, said she would love to coach volleyball one day at South Lakes.
“That’s my plan,” she said, enthusiastically. “I plan on coming back to South Lakes and coaching and teaching.”
<b>FOR NOW</b>, Jordan is excited about her senior year and the stellar season being experienced by the Seahawks. One of the season highlights thus far for South Lakes was capturing first place at the Raider Rumble, hosted by Stuart High School on Sept. 12.
“That was huge for them,” said coach Hostetler, whose squad won three matches to take the tournament title. “They really worked hard for that.”
South Lakes will have a big test this Wednesday night (Sept. 30) when it hosts Stone Bridge in a Liberty District match at 7:15.
“It feels real good [to be winning] because this is my senior year,” said Jordan Hostetler, a second year member of the varsity team. “We have always been known as the South Lakes girls’ team that is easy to beat. Now, we are kind of a threat.”
Jordan said the Seahawks are a close knit team that focuses on playing well on the floor as a unit.
“We’re all like friends,” she said. “We don’t have all the drama that you’d expect with teenage girls.”
For Cheri, being such a big part of Jordan’s high school volleyball career is a thrill.
“The great thing is I get to see firsthand how well she is doing and I get to support her and be a part of her senior year volleyball experience,” said Sheri. “We’ve got a real good working relationship.”