Notebook: Proud Dad at President’s Day Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code:&nbsp;howe30&nbsp;in the coupon code area</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ST. LOUIS - </strong>We pulled up at the Americas Center early Saturday morning prepared for a weekend of volleyball. That focused abruptly changed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our youngest daughter looked at her phone just before exiting the car. "He's gone," she said, a flow of tears following the shaky-voiced announcement. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"He" was family friend Parker Sutherland, who tragically passed away overnight. His younger sister, [player_tooltip player_id='775626' first='Georgia' last='Sutherland'], is her dear friend and classmate at Iowa City High. The three of them would joke around during sleepovers at the Sutherland house. Parker was a great big brother, just a special kid, overall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now, he was gone and our daughter felt the impact of losing someone close for the first time. We left it up to her whether or not to play. With red, watery eyes she took her place in the rotation. Tape on her fingers carried Parker's initials. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched the rest of the day in amazement as this 15-year-old, high school freshman fought back tears while playing through the heartache. She performed well during a 3-0 day in the Open Division. Coaches and teammates (and their families) aided the cause by offering tremendous support.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nobody would have blamed her for walking away. Something inside kept her on the court, fighting through the pain. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maybe it was knowing Parker probably would have done the same. A four-sport athlete in high school, he loved competing and would have been proud of his kid sister's close buddy on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Your mom and I were beyond proud of you, too, [player_tooltip player_id='780596' first='Audrey' last='Howe']. We always have been. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More notes from Saturday...</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'll be writing up more thoughts and observations when I get back to Iowa City but wanted to deliver some quick hitters about what I saw on Day 1:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Iowa Impact 15-1 Elite impressed me in my first in-person scout of the season. [player_tooltip player_id='777812' first='Havanna' last='Dolbeare'] and [player_tooltip player_id='933241' first='Ava' last='Moench'] shined as six-rotation outside hitters. Gwendolyn Ramsay and Brianna Johnson were well-rounded setters, and [player_tooltip player_id='905327' first='Abby' last='Buenzow'] and [player_tooltip player_id='913696' first='Layton' last='Freeman'] brought power to the opposite pin. [player_tooltip player_id='933239' first='Madilynn' last='Niggemeyer'] and Brooklyn Smith held it down in the middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-I also got my first live scouting opportunity of Select 17 Mizuno. [player_tooltip player_id='490015' first='Mazie' last='Sweers'] was standing out through six rotations, as she's done for years. The same could be said about super setter [player_tooltip player_id='490009' first='Leah' last='Caffery'] and fellow six-rotation outside, [player_tooltip player_id='489674' first='Jordan' last='Tegeler']. Reece Harrell and [player_tooltip player_id='758798' first='LaTasia' last='Green-Huffman'] teamed up to impact the middle of the net as two-way contributors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Saturday was also the first time I watched Adrenaline 17 Marty in person. While it was missing a couple of key performers, plenty of talent remained on hand. [player_tooltip player_id='525829' first='Addison' last='Phillips'] and Kendra Bauer proved to be a dangerous 1-2 punch in the middle. Iowa City West all-stater [player_tooltip player_id='555736' first='Lila' last='Eastvold'] was on point at setter, [player_tooltip player_id='845222' first='Ava' last='Meidlinger'] was tough on the right side, [player_tooltip player_id='901609' first='Hayden' last='Scott'] thrived as a six-rotation outside and pin [player_tooltip player_id='584675' first='Nataliya' last='Linder'] has improved a lot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-I bounced around watching the Rockets top teams. As mentioned up top, 15R was 3-0 in Open. I thought middle [player_tooltip player_id='890305' first='Johanna' last='Shaffer'] was consistently good today. [player_tooltip player_id='760983' first='Finley' last='Batchelder'] also delivered big points on the right side. Setters [player_tooltip player_id='751549' first='Katherine' last='Barickman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='730426' first='Hazel' last='Schluckebier'] both moved off their main position in swinging away at the opposite pin for 16R. [player_tooltip player_id='555788' first='Kendra' last='Nolton'] was hammering home points from the pin when I caught 17R. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->