A Special Program; A Special Person

MONTROSE—Joel Forrest is proud to be her assistant coach, but much more so to be her husband.

Observing Shane Forrest as Montrose High head volleyball coach, he says, “Her capacity for work leaves me shaking my head. She’s a counselor at Columbine Middle School who is also in charge of the student mentoring program, so during the first week of volleyball, she’ll start practice at 6:30 in the morning, go to school for registration, come home at 9 p.m. and work on the mentoring program until 1 a.m. and then start again the next day.” He says it tires him just watching her: “She’ll do the same thing the night after we have a match, breaking down film and doing stats. She amazes me.”

Next Tuesday night will be the second annual “Pink Out” event at the Indians’ 6 p.m. home match against Central. The idea is to both increase awareness and to raise money to fight breast cancer.

“We want everyone to come dressed in pink to show support and help raise funds for the Bosom Buddies program,” said Shane. All donations raised Tuesday from regular home match sponsors will go to the cancer charity.

Her other assistant coach, Heidi Voehringer, admires her for the genuine values she brings to her coaching. “The values she brings go far beyond wins and losses. She teaches her players to compete but with a sense of commitment to the team. And she teaches her players to give to the community. This is not for show; this is absolutely real with her.”

Voehringer said she is proud to be part of a program that teaches life lessons. The key to this has been the team’s commitment to support breast cancer awareness. For the past three years the team has participated in the annual Bosom Buddies walk.

“It has been a great thing for the girls to get involved with this community effort, to both give back and to raise their own awareness of the issue,” Shane said.

It's clear watching Shane Forrest coach that she loves volleyball, her players, and teaching the game. Her face shows a keen concentration for details, but a smile reflecting the pleasure she takes in someone’s success is never far away.

A 1988 All-America volleyball standout at Mesa State College, Forrest is in her 12th season as head coach at Montrose and says that her first goal is “to impart my passion for the sport. And I have tried to impart on the players the value of playing a team sport.”

She and her coaching staff have worked hard to develop a feeling of teamwork which will be inclusive of every player from freshmen through varsity seniors.

“I love walking in the gym and seeing 24-36 girls dressed in Montrose Volleyball gear ready to get to work as a team,” she said.

The program has undergone some structural changes over the past several seasons, and Voehringer credits Shane with a special capacity for self-evaluation and the willingness to make changes necessary for success. Typically, Shane is quick to hand off credit to her staff and players. A primary case in point is the specific weights and agility class for female athletes created by husband Joel which runs before regular classes in the morning. “We have noticed a considerable difference in our players’ strength, speed, jumping ability and in their confidence,” Shane said. She credits this for much of the team’s success during the last two seasons.

Forrest is pleased with the success the team is experiencing this year and credits new programs including the Black Canyon Volleyball Club for off-season competition started by assistants Voehringer and Joel Forrest. But she is particularly excited about directing that success to being even more effective in helping others by drawing more support to the team’s cancer awareness efforts.

Her coaches and players understand how this is characteristic of the special person that she is. It is part of why senior Erin Reardon points to the team’s “strong relationships this year, especially with Coach Forrest.” Fellow senior Brianna Verbel adds, “She has been a really strong influence. She pushes us hard, but always in a way that makes the team solid.”

Shane Forrest is a person who focuses her energy, knowledge, and talent on giving good things to others. Tuesday night will be a great opportunity for the community to join her.