At Shondell family Christmas today, there's one activity that's almost as guaranteed to happen as the opening of presents around the Christmas tree.
“Once the meal's over, we've opened presents, now it's time to head to the gym,” said Kyle Shondell, the first men's volleyball coach at Indiana Tech in nearly 50 years.
The visit to the gym is to play volleyball, of course.
With the patriarch of the family – and men's volleyball – in Don Shondell sitting at the head of the table, volleyball's a staple at family gatherings.
“It was just always there,” Kyle said. “It wasn't forced; it was just we have an opportunity to play, let's go play. Always having that bond as a family was special.”
Volleyball bloodline
You'd think playing volleyball was a requirement to claim the last name Shondell.
Don is credited with starting the men's volleyball program at Ball State – where he coached for 34 seasons – as well as co-founding the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the conference that includes Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne.
He's the second-winningest men's volleyball coach in history and has a list of accolades that stretch on and on. At 90 years old on Jan. 1, the father of men's volleyball can witness his grandson Kyle grow the game.
“I've met so many that have been unbelievably impacted by my grandfather,” Kyle said. “It's hard to walk anywhere near volleyball, and often not near volleyball, and not hear how Dr. Don somehow impacted a life almost anywhere I go.
“To have somebody see my name and ask, 'Are you related to Don?' and want to hold me there for 45 minutes and talk about the impact that Don had in their life. I just hope one day to be a tenth of that kind of person and have that kind of impact.”
Not only does Kyle have his grandfather to look to for advice but his dad, Dave, who's spent the past 16 seasons coaching Purdue women's volleyball; and uncles, John, who's the associate head coach at Purdue, and Steve, a legendary Indiana high school coach and retired Ball State women's coach; as well as a handful of other relatives involved in the game.
“It does kind of run in the family. We haven't tried to encourage our kids to do anything except what they love to do and think they can become really good at it,” Dave said. “He's been around a lot of good coaches.”
Good coaches that have been consistently – and maybe unknowingly – grooming Kyle into the coach he is today.
“One thing that was painfully obvious about my dad, grandfather, my uncles and anybody you see around them, is they're constant students of the game,” Kyle said.
Kyle said if Don were to be in a gym right now, he'd be studying a new technique of the game.
“He's 90, and he's accomplished more in this game than probably anybody else living and he wants to continue learning,” Kyle said.
Coach in training
Kyle doesn't remember a time growing up when volleyball wasn't there. Summer vacations consisted of going to Lake Webster and to wherever the junior volleyball national tournament was being played. His three sisters all played, and at one point, his dad and both uncles all coached high school teams just miles apart of each other.
Nights were spent at Shondell-vs.-Shondell matches at the historic Muncie Fieldhouse as Steve coached Muncie Burris and Dave coached Muncie Central.
“I didn't know that it wasn't normal to have that kind of rivalry for high school volleyball, because that's what I knew,” Kyle said. “I know now that that was a unique situation.”
Kyle, a Purdue graduate, spent his time on campus much how he grew up – on the court. As a student manager for his dad's team, he worked his way up from ball shagger and coaches' stool carrier, to essentially being an extension of the coaching staff. It was there, working with both his dad and uncle that he realized coaching was for him.
“I really started to develop my passion more than just 'well I'm a Shondell, I have to love volleyball' to where I'm like 'no, I love this game,'” Kyle said.
Since graduating Purdue in 2012, Kyle has jumped around at a few coaching gigs, most recently as the women's volleyball coach at Huntington University.
Dave said Kyle has what it takes to build a program from the ground up, much as Don did.
“We're all advocates for the men's game as well as the women's game, but with my dad's role at Ball State, and being kind of the pioneer of men's volleyball this side of California, I thought there was something unique about Kyle getting involved in the men's game,” Dave said.
Ironically, Don spent a big chunk of his life in Fort Wayne. Among those on the Dr. Don coaching tree is Arnie Ball, who founded the men's volleyball program at IPFW and whose name adorns the court at Purdue Fort Wayne's Gates Center.
“It just seems like a circle of life to some extent,” Dave said.
Growing the game
As much as volleyball flowed through the Shondell home, Kyle, now 29 with a wife, LeAnn, and 10-month old son, Asher, didn't play in an organized league until he got to Purdue and played on the men's club team.
There weren't opportunities. Now, boys volleyball is the second-fastest growing sport since 2012, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. In the 2016-17 school year, boys volleyball had 57,209 participants. In 2017-18, the number hovered around 61,000.
“The club scene is bigger now than 10 to 15 years ago for boys,” Kyle said. “I still think it needs to be a bigger opportunity. I think that's part of the reason I wanted to be here. I would like boys that want to play volleyball to have the opportunity to play volleyball.”
Men's volleyball was played at Indiana Tech from 1962 to '73. Jerre McManama – who also coached with Don at Ball State – led the Warriors for seven years and was part of the Indiana Tech 1965 Hall of Fame class.
“It's not yet boomed, so it's kind of good for Tech to have been there before that boom stage,” Kyle said. “I see it as kind of an opportunity to not be the first to the punch, but still be able to build something as the game grows.”
With two collegiate men's volleyball programs in a city the size of Fort Wayne, the interest has proven to be there. And Kyle, much like his dad, uncles and grandfather, continue to propel that interest to new heights.
“I love my father, I love my uncles, but they would agree if we could accomplish half of what Dr. Don has, they would consider themselves a success,” Kyle said. “If I can amount to some of that, I'll have done a lot.”
ewyman@jg.net
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