Indiana University Athletics
Stories From The First IU Volleyball Team
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Debra Hockemeyer and Dawna Tidler-Needler were on the first Indiana volleyball team that included a state championship in 1974. Both have fond memories of their time at IU and will be attending the 40th anniversary banquet on Saturday Oct. 11th prior to the Hoosiers match against Purdue at 7:00 p.m. at University Gym. Debra and Dawna shared memories of their time at Indiana.
We look forward to honoring over 70 Indiana volleyball alumni and their families and friends this weekend.
Debra Hockemeyer
I played on the Varsity IU Volleyball team in 1974 and 1975. In 1974 Margie S. was our coach and we won the state championship before going to the Regional that year. We slayed the giant, who at the time was Ball State. We were indeed the underdog in the match.
What I do recall was the team chemistry and the effect that the coaching staff had on me and how it lasted all these years in my life personally and professionally too.
Coach Margie S. was from California and we were impressed by her skill and knowledge of the game. The players on the team were an eclectic mix that in the end came together to execute a huge success. We built the best team we could with what we had. It seemed to be like taking raw ingredients and making a delicious meal. What those two seasons I played had in common was the relationships and how the essence of those bonds and experiences stays forever in your being.
We did not have first class travel and crammed into cars and vans to drive to games. We had authentic bonds with each other on the court and some off too. We played with 100% intensity for the love of the game and each other. In the course of those two years, I learned to hit as hard as I could and to serve the ball strategically; however the caring from each coach( Ann Lawver) in '75 too and the adventure that volleyball took me on personally served me throughout my life and molded me into who I am today.
It helped me initially in my teaching and coaching career. Later in Educational Leadership those same team-building skills were the foundation of how I built programs for at risk youth. Those coaches modeled authenticity and intensity of effort. Winning was important but not at all costs. Being true to yourself and having meaning as a person was stressed in their lifestyles and their coaching methods.
So I thank you IU for providing the basics for this early intercollegiate sport that has blossomed into what it is today and I hope that it is still the springboard for the values IU holds dear......development of each person in the soup of volleyball with the skills and attributes that only great team efforts can achieve! Does this experience prepare student-athletes for life, for relationships, for challenges? Forty years ago I said YES to IU Volleyball and today I say "YES" again
to supporting the program that gave me the tools for life. I love the game!
I Love the game of life and it will teach you about relationships and momentum. Volleyball at IU was a microcosm for what I would experience in my life in retrospect. It ultimately was about love and caring and playing your guts out. I am eternally grateful to be a part of the rich tradition at IU and value how it is woven into the fabric of who I am today!
Dawna Tidler-Needler
I played for two years on the 1974 and 1975 teams. I remember seeing a brochure for tryouts at the HPER building as a freshman and since I had come from a strong high school volleyball program, I decided to try out. I was so thrilled to make the team. The IU coach had come from Fresno, CA, and I knew what a hot sport volleyball was in California. Her name was Margaret Schaufelberger and she was both a super player and coach. She was there and than Ann Lawver took over as coach. Looking back, I'm sorry I didn't try out my junior and senior years. I went on to coach high school girls for six years after I graduated from IU.
I had come from a high school class of 86 students, so I was so proud to be chosen as a member of the Indiana University Volleyball Team. IU had 32,000 students at the time, so playing on the volleyball team gave me a place where I could belong and continue to play a sport I loved. I had gone to IU knowing no one.
We did all of our traveling by cars and vans. I remember getting my uniform and I remember getting a pair of actual volleyball shoes that IU paid for. In high school, you paid for your own shoes. Traveling with the volleyball team was the first time I had ever stayed in a hotel. It was an amazing experience.
We practiced at the HPER building and at the Fieldhouse at Assembly Hall. Sometimes we were made to run the stairs at Assembly Hall, which I hated. Bobby Knight had his team in there one day and ran us out with a few choice words even though Coach was the one who told us to run. I laugh about that experience as I look back.
It was hard keeping up with my classes and practicing and traveling. My high school was so small, and I didn't have to work hard to get good grades, but once I got to IU and found myself in lecture halls with hundreds of students in some of my classes, I was overwhelmed. There was no such thing as study tables back then.
I'm in my second career, which is as a special education teacher for Muncie Community Schools, in Muncie. My first career was as a juvenile and adult probation officer for 17 years. I needed a change and I had actually wanted to teach for a long time, but after marriage and a child, I couldn't change course and go back for a teaching degree. After my son had gotten his masters, I attended Ball State and got my masters in special education in 2008, and have been teaching ever since.
My experience as an athlete has been so very valuable to me. I was a three sport athlete while in high school, but to be able to play volleyball for a Big Ten school still amazes me. I have truly been blessed. I always have seen myself as a team player in every aspect of my life thanks to sports. I leaned how to work hard, get along with people, and work together for common goals. Being an athlete has also had a positive affect on my health. I work out on a treadmill at least five days a week and I have no health problems.
