Columbus High's Hayes, Fleming sweep All-Bi-City volleyball awards
Columbus volleyball wasn't always the powerhouse program that it is today. Coach Donna Fleming wasn't always taking the team to Marietta for the state championship like she has each of the past four seasons. Likewise, senior star middle Shardonee Hayes wasn't always the elite national prospect that she finished her time with the Lady Blue Devils as.
For both, it took time, effort and a lot of sweat. The results, though, are undeniable, and that's why Fleming and Hayes received the highest honors for the 2015 Ledger-Enquirer All-Bi-City team.
Fleming was named the coach of the year and Hayes the player of the year after winning the state championship over Sequoyah to close October. In addition to the state championship victory, Hayes recently signed with Arizona and will play in the Under Armour All-American match next month.
"A lot of people see the product -- senior superstar going to Arizona, All-American," Fleming said of Hayes. "But I know what it took for her to get to that point, the amount of sweat and the amount of discipline and dedication over this four-year period."
Hayes entered Columbus raw as a freshman. She was gifted with size and athletic ability, but was far from the dominating force she became four years later. Before she was the Class 5A player of the year and one of the nation's top prospects, she was just a tentative freshman who lacked confidence in her potential ability.
"I had to learn confidence in my game," Hayes said. "I have the physical ability. I'm tall, I'm strong, I'm athletic. But I can't go as
far as I want to go without having the mindset that I can be the best I want to be on the court. It comes with practice and working hard. I've been in close games. It requires that big play at the end."
She scored the very last point of her high school career. The 531st kill of her senior season and 1,374 kill of her high school career came on match point to clinch the Lady Blue Devils' second title in three years.
She knows, though, that joining college will be a lot like when she started at Columbus.
"My goal is to keep working hard," Hayes said. "Even though I seem like I'm at my max now, I've got so much work left to do. It's like starting high school again. I'm walking into college as a nobody. It just requires hard work and dedication."
It's been the same way for the Columbus volleyball program as a whole.
When Fleming began coaching the team in 2003, it was in its first year ever. Nurturing the group from infancy, Fleming has grown in the sport herself and praised the players she's had along the way.
This year, Columbus finished the season 46-7 to go with the state title, which was the third in school history.
Fleming has a plaque from every year in her classroom. She says she looks at it and often remembers how much each player gave to help make the program into what it is today.
"Some won state championships, some didn't, but I know what they put into our program to get it to the level that it's at," she said.
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David Mitchell, Follow David on Twitter @leprepsports
This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Columbus High's Hayes, Fleming sweep All-Bi-City volleyball awards ."