Get to know Lapeer HS volleyball coach Lindsey Veihl
LAPEER, Mich. — Meet Lindsey Veihl, Varsity Volleyball Coach at Lapeer High School. Coach Veihl has been coaching for 10 years. She began her coaching career at the junior high level while obtaining her bachelors degree in psychology and criminal justice from Central Michigan University. After graduating, Veihl moved back to the area and coached the freshman team at Davison High School. She found her home on the Lapeer Athletics staff and became the assistant varsity coach in 2020 and is now the varsity head coach. Becoming the Varsity Volleyball Coach for Lapeer has been her proudest coaching career moment! Coaching varsity in her home town has always been her goal.
Coach began playing volleyball in the 8th grade and continued all the way through high-school with one year on scholarship at St. Clair County Community College. Veihl began her coaching career after she stopped playing volleyball.
When asked what are one or two things that the team does in training that are keys to their success, Coach Veihl said, “One thing I find crucial to a teams success is bringing outside sources into help with our training. As a program, we are constantly looking for ways to educate our girls in ways other than volleyball. The girls work with a personal trainer throughout the season and during preseason training. We have traveled to both the University of Michigan and Michigan State University to watch practices and games and speak to college athletes to gain some insight on what it takes to make it to the next level. We have also brought in a motivational speaker to encourage the girls. Another thing that we find crucial in our training is putting emphasis on the importance of unity within our team. We may not all agree on everything all the time, in high intensity situations like varsity sports and practices, emotions tend to run high. It’s so important to make sure that we carry ourselves with respect towards one another and at the end of thes9 day, remember that life will always be bigger than volleyball. Building kids into adults with a good moral compass is the ultimate goal.”
After a loss, Coach Veihl reminds the team that they are not defined by the way they lose, but rather how they come back from a loss. Coach says, “If you choose to play sports, you are choosing to open yourself up to vulnerability. Working hard and then losing can be hard on an ego, but we are only truly losing if we are not able to put that moment behind us and move on to the next.” She also says, “You can’t always be the best, but you can always try to do your best.”
The biggest thing Veihl has learned so far, which she hopes is different in a few years when she has learned more and grown as a coach, is that by being a coach of high school aged kids, you must accept the fact that you are only in control to a certain extent. Veihl says, “I am not here to control their journey, but merely to be in their corner along the way. I have also had to learn how to better believe in myself. If we dont believe in ourselves, how can we expect others to believe in us? As a leader of young people it is important to educate through our actions, not just our words, even though it can be challenging at times.”
When asked what legacy she hopes to leave as a coach, Coach says that it is for her players to look back on their high school and volleyball experience as one of the best things about their teenage years. Every coach enjoys winning–it’s how we’re wired–but more important to Veihl is her kids that she coaches knowing that when they’re in the gym with her and the coaching staff, they are nothing but free to be themselves and will be loved and encouraged every step of the way.
Coach Veihl states, “I work with an amazing group of coaches here in Lapeer. Amber Dixon and Barry Jones both assist at the varsity level and together we make a great team. Tessa and Kevin Becker coach our Junior High team and have been the heart of this program for nearly the last 7 years. Brigette Fulcher and Taylor Waked both keep things running smoothly with our freshmen team. Our girls see a united coaching staff and are able to transfer that to their own teams.”
We now understand why Coach Lindsey Veihl was nominated for Coach of the Month. Her passion for not only her sport but for the teens she coaches and mentors, is extremely impressive and we look forward to hearing about the many successes Coach Veihl and the Lapeer Varsity Volleyball Team has for years to come.
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