Published: April 30, 2008 10:20 pm      

Blues’ Shiflett to play volleyball at Concord

RICHLANDS, Va. — An abundance of excitement filled the library at Richlands High School. Everyone there was excited for young Paige Shiflett. But the one most excited was Shiflett herself. On Wednesday afternoon Shiflett signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Concord University.

“I’m just not used to having all of the people come around for this occasion,” Shiflett said. “It’s a wonderful occasion. I’m very grateful for everybody that can attend.”

The “everybody” Shiflett made reference to included her parents and grandparents, her coach at Richlands, Ronnie Sparks, her travel team coach, Jeff Ray, her teammates and other officials at Richlands High School.

“I’ve watched her grow as a volleyball player and watched her get better and better and be very successful,” Sparks said. “She has a real passion for the game. So I think that really plays into her ability.”

Shiflett and Concord courted each other for some time. She was looking for a place that was small and close to home. Concord coach Patricia Hardin visited Shiflett to put forth her case.

“They’re (NCAA) Division II and I thought it would be just a really good opportunity,” Shiflett said. “She came down to visit and she told me that she’d like to have me play for her. So I decided that Concord’s not far away and they’re not very big. So why not?”

The deal was sealed when Shiflett traveled to Athens.

“My mom and I went on my spring break and we took a tour of the campus with a group,” Shiflett said.

“And then we met with coach (Patricia) Hardin, the coach from Concord, and she gave us an exclusive tour of the athletic facilities. And then I met some of the girls and I saw the dorms.

“And I’m real excited about going. I really can’t wait.”

During her time at Richlands, Shiflett became known as a leader of the Blue Tornado.

“She’s a force on the court,” Sparks said. “She’s very vocal which is the one thing it takes to be a good leader is to lead by example and to go out and play hard and she always did that very well.”

She also became known for the effort she put in the classroom. “She’s a good all-around student,” said Richlands principal Karen Webb. “She’s been involved in things throughout her school career. She’s a student that does what she’s supposed to do and is where she’s supposed to be. When I don’t see them, that’s a good sign.”

Shiflett intends to study occupational therapy with an intent to become an athletic trainer. If the opportunity comes to coach volleyball comes her way, she wants to do that as well.

“I’m really familiar with the muscles and I really like working with the body,” Shiflett said. “So I figured that athletic training would help — especially if I wanted to coach volleyball I figure it would help in maybe getting a new job.”

Shiflett’s success means something special to Sparks. Shiflett will be the first player during his tenure as head coach to play at the collegiate level on scholarship.

“I’ve had her for the last three years and she’s been a very good athlete,” Sparks said. “She’s an outstanding young lady. She has good character and that goes along with being a good athlete.”

Shiflett signed the letter in the presence of her family as well as the coaches that meant the most to her. With one sweeping motion of her pen she realized a dream.

Her excitement was justified.

“I worked so hard,” Shiflett said. “I worked five years towards this and it feels really good to finally have accomplished a goal that I’ve been really trying to achieve.”

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com