Kandi Elite: Small Town Kids, Big Time Dreams, Even Better People
Just over 80 miles West of Minneapolis, a peaceful drive along Highway 12 through Howard Lake, Cokato, Litchfield, and then the coast into Willmar, a town of just shy 20,000 located in Kandiyohi County where you’ll find club volleyball. Really good club volleyball, that isn’t just a one and done team, but a program that has established itself as the premier place to play in Western Minnesota. A night in the Willmar High School gym with the athletes of Kandi Elite will give anyone plenty of reason why any high school athlete, not just a volleyball player, can be successful when being apart of this program.
Kandi Elite , which “Kandi” comes from Kandiyohi County, is a club that not too long ago was comprised of just one team. The Senior class which consists of some of the top players from towns the size that could fit into most metro high schools was one of the first core groups to make their way through Kandi Elite where they will play their final club tournament next week in Orlando at AAU Nationals before heading off to college to start their volleyball careers later this summer.
The training they have received the past four years as part of this club will prepare them for the next level, where for this group of Seniors will be sending athletes to every collegiate level that includes NCAA D1, D2, D3, and NAIA. The Class of 2019 has set the standard for future athletes to come as well as current members of the club. There is an unspoken expectation at practice where players hustle to every spot, constant communication, and a contagious energy.
Loving the vibe here with @kandielite – lots of ball control and energy to go with it! pic.twitter.com/aeGsEs6kpe
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) June 11, 2019
However, not everyone was there, with plenty of multisport athletes which the club works extremely well with and embraces athleticism across all seasons. The Snow sisters, Makayla and Leslie were still at state golf (and currently in 1st place for Class A). Last weekend, Ellie Danileson was a medalist for Minnewaska in the 4×800 as well as the high jump where she actually competed against teammate Lexi Pew where Pew would place 3rd and Danielson 6th. There are also the Olson sisters, Bailey and Sydney, from the 16s and 18s team who can be found playing hockey when they aren’t on the volleyball court.
Terrin DeBoer, a former Augustana volleyball player, is the director with a group of talented coaches who devote countless extra hours in the gym with these well rounded athletes. The training is detailed, clean ball control and defense is demanded, and with this training these teams are able to compete with some of the top clubs around. Competing in the Molten Series against athletes out of the Twin Cities metro, Kandi Elite brings out the most in their own athletes in order to hold their own with some of the top volleyball players not only in Minnesota, but in the country.
Kandi Elite has found a way to defy the club volleyball norms that many have become accustomed to. Yes, players can play in multiple sports. No, you don’t have to be from a big high school or metro area to compete. Yes, with the right training and work ethic athletes can be successful at the high school level and earn themselves a college scholarship.
As practice closed and the Seniors wearing their college shirts, and the rest of the club matching in orange, navy, and white club attire, players from the younger teams were able to say a few words to the Seniors who have been role models in the gym and in their communities. There was the occasional pause to laugh as well as to shed a few tears, all the feels that come with club volleyball that go with the drives to practices in dicey winter weather, nights of basketball practice followed by a volleyball practice while still finishing school work, the random nights in hotels for club tournaments laughing about nothing, and the friendships that will last forever.
Great night with @kandielite – senior sendoff with messages from the younger players, lot of laughs, some tears, and a whole bunch of memories. Good luck at @AAUVolleyball Nationals! pic.twitter.com/EZaAO6QEXU
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) June 12, 2019
These small town kids are doing it right. Kandi Elite is doing it right. With lessons they are teaching far beyond volleyball, this is giving kids in “Kandi”yohi County a chance to compete against some of the best, to do things they never thought possible, and to continue to add to the legacy of Minnesota volleyball players from big cities to small towns to make a difference not only on their team, but in their community far after the final whistle is blown.