DENVER — To 11 of the 12 players on the Bayfield High School volleyball roster, BHS head coach Terene Foutz is just “Coach T.”
To sophomore Maddi Foutz, though, she’s also called Mom.
Terene Foutz took over the Wolverines’ program in 2013 after former head coach Kelley Rifilato left to lead the Fort Lewis College program.
That coincided perfectly with Maddi Foutz’s freshman season.
“It was pretty special, honestly. It’s not something we planned for, by any means, but now that we’re in it together, we’re really developing a great working relationship,” Terene Foutz said. “When we’re in the gym, I’m not her mom, she’s not my daughter. We’re all business.”
Maddi Foutz has stepped into the Wolverines’ lineup as comfortably as Terene Foutz has taken to the Wolverines’ sideline.
BHS is playing in its second consecutive state tournament under Terene Foutz, who picked up Rifilato’s four in a row and kept on trucking.
Maddi Foutz took over as Bayfield’s libero during her freshman year and has expanded her role her sophomore season. She leads the team with 275 digs this year and .8 aces per set to go along with 154 kills, which ranks second for the Wolverines.
But Maddi Foutz didn’t exactly step into the program wide-eyed her first year.
She has been playing volleyball since she was nine years old, primarily through the Four Corners Volleyball Club, where her mom coached her off and on as that program’s founder.
“She’s been my coach since before I could walk, I guess,” said Maddi Foutz, daughter of Mike and Terene Foutz.
It may have been Tom Jensen, though, that taught Maddi Foutz to run.
Jensen coached her during her final few years at FCVC before Maddi Foutz entered high school.
“Tom Jensen is a great tradition, and he helped create some fundamentally sound kids,” said Terene Foutz, who also has served as an assistant coach at Durango High School and a head coach at Ignacio High School.
Now that Maddi Foutz has entered high school, though, the pair try to keep volleyball in the gym and family at home.
Much easier said than done, though, especially for a family that breathes volleyball the way the Foutz’ do.
“Sometimes, because I love volleyball so much, my daughter has to remind me to stop,” coach Foutz said. “She just needs to be a kid, and she enjoys other things. She’s the one that reminds me to tone it down.”
Still, Maddi Foutz does enjoy having her mom around when they’re on the road and together on the sideline.
“When I’m having a bad game or a good game, she’s always there to push me through it,” Maddi Foutz said.
And for Terene Foutz, she’s got the best seat in the house to watch her daughter play.
“It’s precious. We only have a few years with our kids at home. When we’re on the bus, I’m at front and she’s with her friends,” Terene Foutz said. “But I get a courtside view of her growth; I get a courtside view of her development as a leader and as a gamer.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
